It's Not What He Thought
by Zionophy
Summary: Kacchan and Deku are to go in an activity that is be a major part of their grades. They solve a faux search-and-rescue. But there is a greater intent behind that that makes them question evil. Along the way, their groupmates help Deku try to fix his friendship with Kacchan. But apparently, there is such a thing as "overfix" and somehow, their friendship ascends to dare-not-say.
1. Never Did It For Him

**AN: Yo guys, I just entered the fandom. God, here we go. Practically a what-if in which the festival was postponed and they had to put an academic activity. So yes, whatever. Leave a review. I'd appreciate it. And don't think I'd make warnings. I switched my views after a bit of contemplation. Just know that there would be erotica in the future.**

* * *

Bakugou hated this heavy atmosphere. Students from all courses of UA were keeping their eyes on class 1-A, kind of like they were the shining baby that started all Quirks, because of the USJ attack. Sure, maybe publicity would be beneficial, but he'd be glad to erase this type. It was distracting. He scoffed as he walked towards his classroom.

And fuck, he hated that sight.

He didn't know how some General Academics students got in their room, but somehow they did. It seemed a rumor spread that Todoroki, Iida, and that damned Deku were the ones who had been the most help for All Might. A couple of students were swarming each said person. Bakugou gritted his teeth.

He turned to the small crowd Izuku had and grabbed the shoulder of one of them. Almost instantly, his face tightened to that menacing look when he was furious (which was pretty much all the time). The student faced him, terror already instilled. Bakugou tightened his grip to the point in which the bone of an average Quirkless ultra-extra would break. All attention turned towards him.

He uttered, "What's your name?" His voice was as rough as it got.

"Ku- . . . Ku—"

Bakugou grabbed the student by the collar. "It doesn't matter. I want all of you out of my sight." The intimidation was quite prominent in the student's eyes. Correction: _students' eyes_. The meddlers were trying not to face him. Even a few Bakugou's own classmates were terrified, namely Mineta. He was frozen in his seat and was shaking as if he were in North Pole without clothes.

One by one, the students who had entered left. Bakugou threw the student aside. The victim ran outside frantically. Bakugou resigned to his seat and scowled as he saw his classmates glaring at him. He scrunched his eyebrows. "What are all of you looking at?!" The students reluctantly went back their previous activities, more careful than before.

Midoriya faced Bakugou. The explosive man scowled. That Deku was still shaken up from the extras. Midorya was forcing a smile. Damn, Bakugou hated him so much.

"Erm . . ."

"If you even thank me, I'll fucking kill you, Deku."

"Well—"

"I wanted them out of my sight. Don't even think for a split second that I did that for you." It would've been best for Midoriya to drop the subject there, but nonetheless, he still persisted. He collected the guts and held a small genuine smile for Bakugou.

"Thank you, Kacchan." Bakugou rolled his eyes. "They've been pestering me since uh . . . I got here, and I kinda really needed to focus because . . . _academics_. I couldn't just drop that for a moment even after the attack at USJ so yeah . . . Just—thank you."

Bakugou glanced to the side. Whatever warmth was lit inside his gut, he disliked it. It kind of stung him minimally. "You're—" He caught himself say that unknowingly and changed his words at the last second. "Whatever. What could you have done anyway? You're just a stupid Deku, who can't do anything but bother me."

That seemed enough. Once Deku had returned to his seat, the door swung open, with a mummy in display. The students started muttering as Mr. Aizawa entered. Some cringed, imagining their teacher's condition underneath those bandages.

"Not the best conditions I've observed upon entering, but it's good in one way or another. Get back to your seats."

The class obliged. Mr. Aizawa had to explain that he was in an appropriate condition when the students asked. Can't they just stop asking such irrelevant questions? After that, the teacher proceeded in carrying out his supposed plan.

"We had the UA Sports Festival planned two weeks for now. But, considering the attack of the League of Villains to USJ, the faculty is in a form of consensus to postpone the Sports Festival."

The class roared in disagreement. Aizawa was fearful that his ears would've bled. Iida had the class to calm down. However, the order the class representative had restored was not enough to have them think of future violent reactions.

"Thank you. As I was saying, we had to postpone because we're taking cautious measures. The ringleader had escaped along with his accomplice, as you all remember. While we have jailed about seventy of the villains, that doesn't mean they could stop. They probably have not used full ammunition on us, considering that most villains work in the shadows. And if not, that Shigaraki could have the capacity to hire even more."

Midoriya gulped. He hadn't expected that. He thought that UA would've still continued it. But whatever—it was a good call. He thought it was best to learn more about One for All before the festival anyway. Aizawa had a sheet of paper in his hands.

"Instead of that, we've decided to try out something a bit peculiar." That grabbed the attention of the class. "For the heroics course, we have an 80-day project for you to work on in groups of five. I will announce your groups now."

In the end, Bakugou ended up with Kirishima, Uraraka, Iida, and that damn fucking Deku. Bakugou clenched his teeth. What did he do to get stuck with damn Deku? He didn't know. He was about to protest until Aizawa spoke. "Your groups are final. No-one will come crying to me, complaining that they don't want their partners, understand?" A few students agreed, Midoriya with them. Bakugou wanted to smash his table and blow that green-haired fucktard off with full power.

Well, that came out wrong.

"Alright. In this project, you have to perform an international search-and-rescue for a faux victim of ransom. This will surely test your capabilities of becoming a hero, relying mostly on your wits, and not only on your Quirks. We've decided to work with a couple of criminals, Quirkless and not, who have decided to turn over a new leaf and plan to start their step towards a better tomorrow. Of course, we had them under interrogation from one of our best judges with an Honesty Quirk, and the villains who were caught plotting their escape were put back in their cells. They will play the villain in your case." It raised a couple of murmuring. Aizawa raised a hand to dismiss them.

"Of course, we know that they may have doubts on being villains again, but they are hell-bent on gaining their freedom and forgiveness. And don't worry—whether or not you fail to solve the case, the criminals _will_ have the freedom they deserve for their cooperation. We will start in three days. Is everything clear?"

The class had no objections, so Aizawa ended homeroom. It had the students talking even until the end of the day. Bakugou was already walking his way to the exit of the academy. The orange sky reminded him of his explosions—only that they were tranquil. His thoughts wandered off.

 _God, why the fuck to I have to be stuck with that Deku? Wherever I go, he's always in the way. But quite frankly . . . I think . . . Nah—that can't be right. How can I be thankful for him? He's just gonna be another hurdle and—_

"Kacchan, wait up!"

Speak of the devil. Bakugou gritted his teeth but kept his steady pace. Midoriya was at his right. The arrogant boy dared to make no eye contact. But it was still unsettling to have a pair of large eyes directed at his side.

"I figured that you might need someone to talk to especially about the project we're in. Do you—"

"Can you—"

Nope, he was already muttering.

"Actually believe it's an international thing? Like we get to go outside of Japan for almost three months for a search-and-rescue! Isn't that fun? But then what will the teachers do while we're gone? Are they gonna focus on keeping more villains at bay or will they plan the next lesson plans? How about the security? Is UA gonna have more security because UA has less firepower or will the current security compensate? Will _we_ have security in whatever country we may go or—"

"Jesus, can't you stop _muttering_ for even just a minute?!"

Bakugou's voice was so loud that flocks birds flew away from all corners of the school. Izuku kept looking at Bakugou. He didn't if he were to be fazed or not. He was used to his behavior so he should've dropped it, right? But somehow it bothered him. He faked a smirk and apologized.

For a moment— _just a millisecond_ —Bakugou wanted to punch himself for his recklessness.

"Just . . . don't piss me off."

And there it was. Damned Deku was back to Scotty MchappyFace. Bakugou tried dismissing it, but Izuku couldn't. The last statement was one of the least _lethal_ things the blonde had said to him in his whole lifetime.

"R-Right. Of course, I won't, Kacchan. You have my word . . . but—" Izuku cut himself off and drooped at a sudden thought.

 _But isn't my very existence enough to make Kacchan mad?_

Bakugou caught Midoriya's third mood swing. Initially cheerful, then sad, then cheerful, then somber. What was in that Deku's mind that bothered him that much for mood swings? Seeing those mood swings . . .

"It makes me mad."

Midoriya flinched at the sudden comment. He thought Bakugou was thinking of something. It was his chance.

"What is?" Midoriya asked. The fact that Izuku asked made Bakugou even more furious. Of course he'd ask. He was annoying like that. Deku equals more rage. Rage equals to recklessness. Recklessness equals to things Bakugou doesn't want to say. And yes, Bakugou said things he didn't want to say.

"You were fucking blue when I told you to stop muttering! And then you suddenly got more life when I told you what you should do then suddenly you're fucking gloomy as shit! Be more consistent, Deku! You weren't like that before! Why the—"

"Are you saying you want me to be consistently . . . _happy_?"

"Yes . . . I MEAN, NO—WH—WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT? Like, I want you to—"

While Bakugou was spitting in his face about how he should be happy (or not—Bakugou isn't exactly at these kinds of feelings crap) Izuku was as probably high as a kite after he had assumed that Bakugou wanted him to be happy. It was the very first time Bakugou had said it to him. And for some reason, his chest felt light. He caught a glimpse of a flushed Bakugou. The aggressive boy grew redder and exploded.

"WHY ARE YOU MUTTERING ABOUT ME?"

Apparently, Izuku was muttering his very thoughts. Ignoring that, he put up a weak thumbs-up at Bakugou with a smile. Another mood shift. And in this mood shift, Bakugou didn't get angrier. It seemed to have calmed him down. It made him feel better—

 _Whoa, what?_

"You can trust me in that, Kacchan."

"Tch. Whatever."

Well, that satiated Izuku's needs. It was more than enough to keep him beaming on the way home. At some point in the train, Bakugou thought of ditching Izuku's ass when they turn to a corner, but he never even executed a fraction of that plan.

Bakugou didn't know. Izuku just kept on talking and talking and talking. While he still kept his fanatics over All Might, he _did_ talk about him in a significant—not drastic, but in a significant subtraction that before. Good. Finally Bakugou had at least _some_ peace. Like sure, he could acknowledge All Might, but it seemed definitely tiring to ramble about him all day long.

At some points, at rare points, Bakugou even _replied_ to what Izuku was chattering about. And that was a surprise, considering Izuku mostly talked about some nonsense bullshit on the way home.

Before they knew it, Izuku was at the front of his apartment. Had Kacchan . . . _walked him home?_ No, he didn't agree to that. But yes, he did.

"Ah . . . wow. Thanks for taking me home, Kacchan. I-I guess . . . I'll see you tomorrow then?" Izuku smiled at Kacchan and waved him goodbye as he entered his apartment. Kacchan raised his hand, but he was conflicted. He wanted to wave back . . .

. . . but he also raised his hand to—maybe, _just maybe_ —stop Izuku from leaving.

* * *

The next few days were a hassle. Three days weren't quite enough to do everything they need before leaving. And they didn't even know what they needed. They were supposed to draw lots on the _exact_ day of their departure to draw which case they were solving. Each case had a different country. It was fortunate that the academy had personal planes for each group to ride. It was even more fortunate that the school had their VISA's covered.

Kirishima volunteered himself in drawing the lot. The other volunteers from each group were Yaoyorozu, Mineta, and Ashido. The Creation girl got China. The tiny boy got Canada. The pink girl got Belgium. Kirishima got—

"We're going to France, baby!"

While Uraraka, Iida, and Izuku cheered about their destination, with Aoyama complaining to Ashido about not getting France, Bakugou was left dumbfounded. Out of all places, why France? He didn't want any of that cheesy crap that France ignites.

"Come on, Kacchan, aren't you excited?! We could go see the Eiffel tower and the landmarks and most importantly, we get to check new heroes out and their Quirks! That's so cool! We're going to France!"

God, Bakugou would've made a small explosion directly at Izuku's face, but he hesitated. That's new. "Let's just go to our plane, goddamnit."

"Ooh," Kirishima said, "you've finally got better control of your anger. You're trying to like restrain it in substitution of blowing our ears off. Did something happen to the Bakugou we know?"

Bakugou dismissed their remarks and walked towards the bus that took the class 1-A to the airport. It took half an hour to get there. Both Izuku and Uraraka were on their phones, so Bakugou was left with Iida and Kirishima. Iida took the leisure to study the case.

"So apparently, the villains we're against here are the Noir-torious gang." What a hideous name. "In our activity, they're holding ransom on who seems to be the son of the benefactor of the hugest companies that could bludgeon France's economy if it were to fall apart."

Kirishima leaned over to Iida and read along with him. Iida continued, "The victim is named Cyrano Durand. They're holding him ransom for three hundred million Euros. What else . . . Cyrano was kidnapped in Moonlight Abbey. Uh-huh . . . That's all we have for now. This is a bit too minimal to our liking."

Kirishima sighed. "Yeah—but it's a simulation of a legit search-and-rescue. You can't get manlier than that!" The red-headed boy slung his arm around Bakugou, who tried pulling away, but Kirishima still fought the external force. "You've been _awfully_ silent lately, man. It's not manly at all."

Seriously, this dude was getting in Bakugou's nerves.

"IT'S MY CHOICE WHETHER I WILL BE SILENT OR NOT, YOU UPSIDE-DOWN BROOM!"

In the distance, at the other side of the lobby, Uraraka headed over to Izuku, ignoring the people who were glancing at them. It figured. They didn't have that much supervision at all. And no-one would've known that the mummy at the center of it all was their supervisor. UA did well in keeping this activity under the radar.

"Oh . . . uh—Uraraka, are you ready to go?"

She answered, "Yep!" She looked to the side with something in her mind. Like it was a bit of a bother. "It would've been nice to have our parents come with us, though." They started walking to where their group was. Izuku figured to keep the conversation.

"What do you mean?"

"Ah . . . well, you see—my parents really want to go to Hawaii. Sure, France _isn't_ Hawaii, but it could've brought them a bit of satisfaction, you know?"

Izuku was amazed of her consideration. For the remaining days of preparation, he didn't even stop to consider that his mother might've wanted to go to wherever their unknown destination was. He made a mental note to bring his mother a souvenir after the activity.

They were cut short because of Bakugou's destructive curses at Kirishima. "YOU'RE LUCKY THERE ARE FUCKING PEOPLE HERE OR I WOULD'VE KILLED YOU OFF ALREAD HAIR-HOR-BRAINS!" People were watching this scene unfold. Izuku even saw a few record it.

Izuku sighed. "We should catch our flight already. Yaoyorozu's team already went to their plane."

They all reached that consensus, only until Bakugou had calmed down (which, according to the explosive boy, was already his state). With Bakugou abstaining, it was still technically a unanimous decision. They said their final goodbyes to their classmates and Aizawa, who just waved at them. Iida announced, "We're all to ride in plane number 3 . . . Where . . . Ah-hah!" Once Iida had spotted the plane, they walked to the open field where the planes usually took off. It was probably as long as a personal pool and as wide as their hallway. They walked to the entrance and were greeted by their pilot.

Inside the plane were two tables against each other with a round couch enough for three. There were six seats at the back, all at very reasonable distances from each other, and all declinable. The seats have cabinets next to each other, with two pillows and a blanket under. There was a television set at the center of it all. There was a curtain at the back. The kanji on the curtain says it was a pantry.

Bakugou glanced at Izuku setting his bag down at the side of the very first seat at the right. Somehow, Izuku hadn't even done anything, but it made him clench his teeth. He didn't want to be stuck with Izuku at all.

But at least Izuku was . . .

Nah, he'd take these extras any time before he'd take Deku. It was sort of like a pledge for him to dislike the entirety of Izuku. He took the seat directly against Izuku and dropped his bag without any care whatsoever. He checked his bag to see if everything he needed was there. He glanced at the side. He didn't remember planning on bringing a notebook. He blinked a few times to see that Izuku was using his burnt book with the number thirteen.

Bakugou was breathless for a while. He felt . . . _disheartened_ at the sight of the book. He looked down at what he had. It wasn't from the same company that Izuku bought his notebooks for hero notes from, but . . .

And just like that—Izuku had the book in his hands and he was thanking Bakugou in indefinite amounts and in rapid speeds.

 _What the hell just happened?_

As Bakugou got an encouraging smile from Uraraka, he looked at the floor, quite astonished. All he remembered was that he was threatening Izuku to take the book. And if he didn't, he'd blast him off the plane from the stratosphere. He clutched his stomach as that peculiar warmth in his guts returned for the second time of the week. Surely, it was something worse than what that navel guy had when he overused his power.

Whatever it was, Bakugou had to know.


	2. Apologies

Once the group had landed, they wasted no time to get to their assigned apartments. Bakugou took charge of handling the navigation. It turned out that he was _horrible_. He got them lost probably three times. Well, it was new land; it was still acceptable. So Izuku took his place, making Bakugou quite grumpy.

"Don't you have GPS on your phone?"

"Bad signal. Can't get a bar."

"Ah . . ." Izuku checked his phone. He sighed as he saw lack of bars. Even others either had one or none. Fortunately, Izuku managed to get them to their hotel in one try. But considering the time they used up, it was already night. Bakugou flared and twisted his two knuckles on each side of Izuku's head. "OWOWOW!"

"NO-ONE TOLD YOU TO GET THIS RIGHT! I'M SUPPOSED TO WIN—NOT YOU!"

"Eh . . . this isn't even a competition," Kirishima muttered.

Uraraka chuckled. "Bakugou can turn anything into a competition."

"This," Iida said, "is a peculiar display of too much competitiveness. Do you think this is healthy for the class?"

Kirishima answered, "Eh, it's Bakugou. Can't have that much excitement in the class if he doesn't have his superiority complex."

"I DON'T HAVE A SUPERIORITY COMPLEX, HAIR-FOR-BRAINS!"

"Proves my point."

Iida rushed over to the front desk in his quick robotic walk. No-one would call it formal. Just downright robotic. He pointed towards his group. Uraraka and Kirishima waved. Bakugou and Izuku were just . . . _interacting_. Iida motioned at them to come closer, to which they complied. The lady at the desk smiled at them.

The lobby was pretty large. There were businessmen walking all around—rarely any tourists were there. Still though, the ceiling was low enough for Bakugou to jump and reach. There was a cafeteria at the left. The group could smell the croissants from there.

"Bonjour. Welcome to Royal Stars Hotel."

As the lady kept on talking about what their hotel could provide them, Bakugou ignored his surroundings and focused on Izuku. Damn it—the gut heat again. He grunted and decided to sit first. Izuku was the first to notice his discomfort.

 _Don't come here._

Izuku was walking closer to him.

 _Fucking hell._

"Hey," Izuku called. "Why have you been so gloomy lately? Are you feeling well?" Izuku placed his hand on Bakugou's forehead. The seconds passed like hours. Izuku grinned. "You're definitely _not_ feeling well. You would've blown my hand off before I even got to check you up."

"Damn it, Deku, I'm not _that_ aggressive! What do you think of me?" Bakugou threw his hands in the air and fell back to the couch. "Do you see me as some kind of a woman in her worst days?"

"You mean a woman on her period?"

"Yeah—that."

"Well, yes. Everyone does."

Bakugou harrumphed and punched Izuku's arm away. It just made that stupid grin spread wider. Bakugou would be _ecstatic_ if he could punch Izuku's teeth in. But he knew better that. The rest walked towards the two with two key cards in the hands of Uraraka. She held it up.

Kirishima said, "We get two neighboring rooms. Each room has, like, two beds. Fortunately, there is a recliner in the first room."

Iida announced, "I took the initiative to take the recliner."

"Yeah," Kirishima continued. He waved the approaching hotel staff away. He told them that they could manage their own bags. "Anyways, me and Uraraka don't really care who our roommates would be, so we leave the decision to you two lovebirds on who you wanna be with."

Bakugou grabbed Kirishima by the necktie, his fist already ready to make contact. "DO YOU WANT TO DIE, YOU FUCKING BROOMSTICK?!"

Eyes turned towards them. Bakugou shot them a threatening look—intimidating enough to have them look away and return with their business. Izuku held Bakugou's hand. Somehow, Bakugou's arm relaxed and the blonde let go of his classmate. And for fuck's sake, Bakugou's stomach churned one more time. The area in which Izuku touched had invisible needles puncturing him. He looked aside.

"I think," Izuku said as he affirmed that Kirishima could handle Bakugou, "it would be best to have someone like Kirishima who wouldn't mind cheating death for eighty days so . . . I'll take Uraraka and Iida in the first room. Is . . . is that okay for you guys? Kacchan?"

The group nodded in reply. Bakugou just scoffed. "I'll take that as a unanimous 'yes.' We should go," said Izuku. They grabbed their bags and costume cases. Considering that Izuku didn't bring much, he only had his luggage bag, which was big enough to bring clothes and fit his hero costume case. He noticed that Bakugou brought a luggage bag, a backpack, and his costume case. To at least alleviate, Izuku offered to get one bag.

Bakugou's face darkened. "I'm not some damsel-in-distress, Deku. How many _fucking_ times do I have to remind you that I will _never_ need your damn help?" Izuku's mouth twitched.

"I'm just trying to help. I—"

"Well, I don't need it! You're useless and that's what you'll always be!"

Bakugou didn't notice that the elevator door was already opened. Izuku's head drooped. That Deku's face again. Bakugou release a tiny groan—the same groan at that time once he had realized that Izuku used his other arm to defend from his attack. Izuku walked inside the elevator and hastily pressed the close button.

Strange. Bakugou knew he had one of the best reaction times in the class, but his body didn't seem to work at that time. The moment he got to his senses and reached out for the door, the door was only a centimeter open. And in that centimeter, he caught Izuku's face tighten.

He bit the inside of his cheek, as form of punishment.

* * *

Room 903. That was the first room.

"Usually," Iida said, "I'd try not to interfere with personal matters. But I think the bad blood between you and Bakugou is well . . . _bad_. I wouldn't ask the source of all of this, so I'll ask: Why be upset over a rejection of help? It _is_ just a bag. I'm sure it shouldn't bother a person."

"Ah—Well . . . I don't know if my logic is _correct_ , really. But . . . u-uh . . ." Izuku caught the attention of his groupmates. Great. "It's kinda like that if he can't rely on me with simple things, then how can he rely on me with _greater_ things, y'know?"

Uraraka chimed in. "Yeah—that _is_ bad logic, Deku. Normal civilians don't need heroes for daily stuff, but the need only comes in during life-threatening situations."

Izuku huffed. He knew that his logic wasn't well polished. But still. Bakugou had more effect on him than any other person other than All Might and his mother. Being called "useless" took a toll on him more when it was Bakugou.

If it did, however, it would make him unable to come up with a conclusion on how he was able to endure years of bullying. Perhaps it was his determination, but that answer can't satiate him. There _had_ to be another factor in play. Maybe he could blame emotional high he always got when Bakugou was the very least nice to him.

What was that feeling, anyway?

Just as they were about to enter, the elevator dinged. Kirishima sighed as Bakugou stepped outside. He looked haggard. The hardening boy wonder what had happened. The trio didn't even bat an eye on Bakugou and entered their respective room. Kirishima shook his head in disapproval.

"You even got our teammates pissed. That's really not very manly of you."

"Pfft. As if I'd care."

That comment was enough to tick Kirishima off. But he kept his cool regardless. Kirishima inserted the key in the lock. They heard a _click_ on the door. They entered their room. The room had two beds, just enough for one person. Two persons if they cooperate with each other's space. There was also a mahogany drawer between said beds. A balcony was positioned at the very end. At the left was a flat-screen television with a stand supporting it, a cable box under said television, and a door that connects them to the other room. Once they closed the entrance, they realized that the bathroom was at the right. Apparently, there also was air conditioning. According to the instructions, it would turn on if he kept the card inside the slot at his left. He did as he was told and the appliance came to life with frigid air.

"Niiiiice. How many stars does this hotel have again? I think it was three."

Bakugou ignored Kirishima and made a beeline to the first bed. He put his arm on his eyes. Kirishima asked, "Don't you wanna have dinner downstairs first? You know we can't bring doggie bags for you."

"I need to rest. Jet lag," Bakugou lied. He just didn't feel like being in the line of Izuku's sights. He had to face the music. He was guilty.

"Alright. But don't come crying to us tomorrow with your stomach playing Death Metal or something. Should I turn the lights off?"

"I don't know. I don't care."

"Right . . ." Still, Kirishima flipped the switch. "You know, it would be a manly thing if you apologize to Midoriya. He would appreciate it a lot. Other than that—well—have a good night." Bakugou heard the door shut. He was engulfed in a serene darkness.

 _Apologize . . . what a joke._

Bakugou forced his wrist on his forehead. "I'm guilty." Why at these recent occurrences? The past few days had been uneventful—bland enough that a person can't possibly learn anything while idling around. But somehow, Bakugou knew he had to be more aware of his actions.

 _Deku . . . Deku . . . DEKU!_

He let out a feeble explosion in his right palm in frustration. Ever since that day Bakugou fell and Midoriya tried helping, that Deku was always in his mind. He couldn't care any less for that bastard—but somehow, that was happening. Midoriya never _ever_ left his mind. Finally, after a decade of teasing, he felt _bad_.

Bakugou was too tired to think about it—but that is what adults call "growing up."

* * *

"Hey, Hair-for-Brains. Wake the fuck up."

"It's Kirishima."

"Whatever. I need help."

That was quite an uncommon statement. The arrogant Bakugou asking for assistance? That was a blue moon. Kirishima weakly got up, rubbing off the pixie dust on his eyes. Still, even with his morning fatigue, Kirishima smiled at Bakugou and said, "Well, out with it."

"FUCKING LET ME COMPOSE MYSELF, DAMN IT!"

Bakugou fell back on his own bed. His nostrils flared. It was already difficult to think about it, but it was even harder to put it into action. Awesome. Wow.

"Is there some way . . . err . . . I don't know how to apologize to Deku so will . . ." He bit his lip. Kirishima chuckled at how flustered Bakugou was. "WillyouhelpmeapologizetothatfuckingDeku?"

Kirishima put his arm on the cabinet and sighed. Bakugou wanted to wipe that smug smile off of his face. "Well, we have a few Euros to burn, so maybe you guys could go to a patisserie and—you know— _talk it out_."

"Ah—err . . . fine." Bakugou wanted to protest, but he can't think of any other option in apologizing, so he agreed to it. But firstly, he had to take a bath. Hot water would've been nice. It was quite arctic the night before.

Kirishima smiled. Everything was going according to plan.

* * *

Once Bakugou had dressed up with his parka, tank, and pants, he burst into the first room, and growled "Deku!" The room fell silent, with Uraraka and Iida staring at him. Apparently, Midoriya forgot his shirt and polo on his bed and came back to get it. And there he was: half-naked as Bakugou almost destroyed the door.

Blood rushed to Bakugou's cheeks. Since when did that Deku ever get so ho— _muscular_? Bakugou shook his head violently. No way in hell would he ever think of that crap.

 _But maybe a little touch on his muscles wouldn't hurt . . ._

"Uh—uh . . . what is it?" Midoriya's voice brought Bakugou to his senses.

"Come with me to a patisserie or I'll kill you."

"But w-we have a case to solve! We don't have time for—"

"Do you want to die?"

"N-no. Sorry."

Midoriya took basically a few seconds to get dressed. And once he was ready, Bakugou quickly took his wrist and headed out. "H-Hey, I don't want to waste the money that was supplied by the academy! Plus didn't even get the money yet! Wha—"

"I have my own Yen. I'll have it exchanged at the service desk downstairs."

Midoriya realized that for the whole time, Bakugou was still holding his wrist. And it gradually grew tighter. But when it got to the level where Midoriya felt like hurting, he shook said hand and Bakugou automatically loosened it. Bakugou exchanged enough Yen for 10 Euros.

"Great. We're filthy rich. And . . ."

Midoriya said, "D-Do you know where we're supposed to go?"

Bakugou clenched his teeth at his carelessness. He could've at least asked Kirishima. Well, it was too late for that. Midoriya at least memorized a part of the map and guided him through the streets of Paris. They turned a few corners and got to a decent looking patisserie.

 _Moonlight Abbey._

"Hey, isn't this where the kidnapping happened?" Bakugou asked.

"Well, it's the nearest one. Might as well make use of the convenience of the distance."

"Uh . . . sure."

Once they had walked in and selected a table, a waiter asked for their order. Midoriya got a hot cup of cappuccino and French toast, while Bakugou ordered for roasted home-brewed coffee. He wasn't much into coffee, really. But he can't just leave Midoriya out.

His stomach was scalding again.

"So uh . . . Kacchan, what is it you wanna talk about?"

Bakugou gripped on his knees until his knuckles turned white. He focused on the dust floating all around. At least he found some form of peace in that. He bit his cheek. "I—uh—am really sorry about . . . yesterday." Bakugou found himself embarrassed. His pride was damaged. But it was just _fine_. He didn't need to be so low after that.

Midoriya stuttered, "U-uh, it's fine, K-Kacchan. It's just a bag. I shouldn't have gotten pissed over something so small."

"Same here, I guess. Whatever." At the very least, Bakugou got a better composure. He didn't know how. The same waiter walked up to them with their breakfast in hand. Midoriya beamed as he received the meal. He spread butter and syrup on the French toast and chewed. Seeing Midoriya's delight, Bakugou can't help but smile as Midoriya scarfed down the food.

While watching Midoriya eat, Bakugou felt light-headed. His mind was foggy, but it was clear enough for him to know his actions. Come to think of it, his heart felt more alive. And he was fine with it. It was a peculiar feeling, and his mind was commanding Bakugou to give in to the emotion. Obviously, Bakugou wanted to fight it, because submitting to an emotion sounded weak. But what the hell, he always submitted to anger. Might as well give that a shot.

 _I got this_ , he told himself.

 _Yeah, sure_ , he replied back to his thoughts.

His hand found its way to Midoriya's freckled left cheek. And just like magic, Midoriya quickly turned red and clutched the cream hand. Midoriya's face was a smooth marble against what Bakugou considered as sandpaper. Bakugou's smile went up to his ears. It was a smile Midoriya had _never_ encountered before. He was _biting_ his lower lip.

"Fucking Deku, don't play that shitty cute game on me. It's unfair, 'cuz you're cute _every day_. It's like you got practice."

Bakugou didn't know what he was feeling but he liked it. It was as orgasmic as falling on one's bed after a stressful day full of academics. And it was as warm as hot chocolate on the worst of slow white porcelain rain. And it was as tempting as letting out an explosion on all of Bakugou's enemies—who were, to be frank, _everyone_.

At that point, Bakugou was setting all his hearts on the table. "How can you be so cute and handsome at the same fucking time?" Midoriya tried protesting, but Bakugou placed his index on Midoriya's mouth. His lips were smooth. Wow. It's like Midoriya had the best faces around. His hand went down to Midoriya's chin. Midoriya was getting pulled closer to the other. The signs of apprehension were clear, until Midoriya flinched. He glanced at his right and nodded.

"Uh, can I be e-excused?"

"Can you? I mean, you wouldn't pass up—"

"Kacchan, I just need to go to the bathroom, okay?"

Without waiting for a reply, Midoriya stood up awkwardly and marched to a corner and escaped Bakugou's sight. And just like that, Bakugou was back to his senses, and he was _burning_ inside. He clenched his fists. Fuck—that was not to be expected. His heart was beating in a fast tempo. He imagined having Midoriya on his bed, trembling like a naked bird in the winter. He imagined himself creeping closer to the green-haired boy, with the victim's legs welcoming Bakugou. He imagined the nitroglycerin mixing with the natural sweat as their bare bodies connected. He imagined leaving Deku hickeys, love bites, scratches and scars.

And he was pretty sure that wasn't the first day he had conjured those scenes inside his brain.

Bakugou may need to work on his emotions of anger and hate, but he was emotionally mature in everything else. After a bit of affirmations, he usually accepts his emotions and moves on with his life. And for fuck's sake, after that scene had played out, for some fucking reason, he knew he was lustful for Midoriya. He didn't know how or when, but that didn't matter. If Deku somehow found his way into his heart, so be it. He wanted to make sure Midoriya _regretted_ squeezing his way into a tight heart. He'll have to go to extremities to make sure of it. Perhaps he can ask Deku out to have a picnic near Eiffel tower once they had the time . . .

As Bakugou was sipping on his coffee and sneaking a bit of Midoriya's bread into his mouth, he caught Iida racing on the streets. Bakugou was quick enough to notice that Iida seemed panicked. He made his way out and looked to where Iida went. There were two hooded people. Each brought a limp bod bag. Uraraka ran up to Bakugou. She pointed at the two. "They have Kirishima and Deku!"

 _Shit_.

With no form of communication, they already knew their roles. Uraraka tapped Bakugou's back. The boy maneuvered through the air with ease, especially that he doesn't have any weight on him. He saw the two enter a pickup truck and drive away. Bakugou thought for a split second and blasted himself about forty feet in the air. He aimed to the truck and estimated the location he had to aim for. It was fortunate for him that there weren't any roads to the left or right.

He blasted from where he was. Uraraka released him and he started gaining speed. As he zipped past the air, he prepared himself for a weak explosion—weak enough so that it wouldn't reach the engines. Quite fortunately, by the time he was on top of the hood, he performed three explosions: one to propel him backward, one to destroy the roof of the pickup truck, and one to get himself to the space at the back, where the body bags were.

While he opened the first bag, where apparently Kirishima was stored, sleeping, the passenger pointed a finger-gun at him from the hole Bakugou made. In a Quirkless world, that would've had no effect whatsoever. However that wasn't the case. Bakugou dodged rapidly enough to dodge an air bullet, touching him only at the tip of his right ear. Bakugou countered with an explosion that packed enough punch to get the criminal flying off the car.

With the danger out of the way, he did a vault and once he was inside the truck, he blasted the driver with a weak explosion, enough to bust his head on the glass and fall unconscious. Bakugou kicked the brakes in frustration and truck skidded to a stop. The driver's head hit the wheel, getting the car to make _beep_ sound.

"Ah shit."

He scowled as he got out of the car. He wasn't expecting a pursuit at that day, especially a day in which he developed another capital sin, other than Wrath. Iida was already untying the other bag, which was squirming. Out came green hair and a familiar freckled face. Bakugou's scowl developed further. Midoriya whimpered as the sun hit his face, until a figure cast a shadow on him. He accepted the offered hand and stood up, seeing Bakugou in front of him. He immediately blushed and looked away.

"Remember," Bakugou said, "a few days ago when I told you that I didn't shoo the extras off just for you?"

"Uh . . . yes?" The memory was still fresh in Midoriya's mind.

"Well, this time, consider this as something I have done for you."

Midoriya turned into a stuttering wreck. While the others checked up on Kirishima, Bakugou placed his right hand on Midoriya's freckled cheek. "I'm glad I fucking saved your useless ass, 'cuz I wouldn't get to touch you like this anymore if you're gone."

Midoriya fought the temptation to melt in Bakugou's touch. There were many questions raised like "Why would I even consider melting in his touch?" but before he got to ask anything, Bakugou pulled him into a hug. Bakugou tiptoed so Midoriya's head was next to his beating heart. After all the action, Bakugou's heart was already slowing down. The other three were already glaring at them, along with a crowd that formed.

"Whoa, that's so manly!"

"Shut up, Hair-for-Brains." Bakugou whispered on Midoriya's hair, "It's a nice day. Do you wanna continue our breakfast?"

"I—uh . . . think we have to defuse this situation first."

Bakugou pushed him away until their eyes met. Fuck, those jade eyes were so _innocent_. "Are you saying that this case is more important than me?"

Midoriya was so conflicted, but he managed to chill. He got down of the truck and headed to the side of a store, with Bakugou tailing him. He asked with the most confidence he can muster, "Why are you suddenly so affectionate for me?"

Bakugou just shrugged nonchalantly. "France seems to be taking its effect on me."

"But you said you _hate_ me! You always say that."

"It's called _character development_. I mean, I hate everyone else, but on you—a little bit less. Probably one percent less."

"But it's just been _two damn days_ since we got here!"

Bakugou pushed Midoriya with his knee between his thighs. Bakugou was so close. It was intimidating. Midoriya tried looking away, but Bakugou forced his vision to the person in front of him. "You don't have to fucking find logic everywhere, Deku. I hated you for a split second when you tried helping me up when I fell—so what's to say I can't be attracted to you so suddenly?" Bakugou pinned Midoriya to the brick wall, ferocity so clear in the boy's eyes. He leaned in closer to the other. The heat in Bakugou's eyes transformed from fury to lust. Midoriya tried escaping, but Bakugou just pinned him harder. They ignored their groupmates at the back, with Iida disapproving PDA and the other two supporting them. Midoriya tried looking at Bakugou one more time.

"Just let this happen, Deku. May I court you?"

Midoriya wasn't sure whether to try it or not. Those were his choices. "Can you give me t-time to d-decide?"

"One's true desires are exposed in spontaneous times." Bakugou just thought of some random crap at the moment. Midoriya looked at the side.

"Is that a _no_?"

"Obviously."

"Aah . . ." He wasn't sure. He knew that he could spare Bakugou friendly feelings, but he wasn't sure about romantic ones. However, he _did_ put up with Bakugou's crap for years. Getting to know Bakugou more than what was supposed to be between the two seemed relevant to his development. Besides, he can learn to love Bakugou. He sighed and glared at Bakugou. "If you swear that we'll balance our rivalry and courtship which could turn to romance, then I accept."

It was to be expected. That's what they always planned to be. Rivals. They can't afford some lovey-dovey bullshit get in the way with what was supposed to develop them further as heroes."You have my word, nerd. Can I have my fucking kiss now?"

"You're just courting me, Kacchan. It's not official."

"Yet."

Midoriya glanced at the others who brought in the two unconscious criminals. "Look, can we just focus on the case first? They might wanna interrogate me because I was _kidnapped_. I don't think the fake gang is supposed to go to those extremities." Bakugou grunted. They walked to the scene. A few local heroes already took the two in the police cars.

"It's still weird how you were kidnapped in the same place the supposed ransom victim was."

"Yeah, but they can't be from Noir-torious, right?"

"How am I supposed to fucking know, dumbass?"

The police were talking to the rest of the group. Once they had chimed in, they announced that they would have the students tomorrow at the prison to interrogate the two, considering it was part of their school activity, to which the police were aware. The police just weren't confident also that the fake gang would go that far. Right then, they had the whole day to themselves.

"But sir," Iida questioned, "can't we interrogate them now? We don't want to waste any more time."

"Sorry," the cop said with a prominent French accent, "we still have to get these two in, because of . . . _files_ and things like that. Leave it to the police first to interrogate, because by the looks of it, these people don't seem like parts a school project."

After leaving their contacts to the police and wasting the day, they were all in their respective sleeping areas. All except for Iida were on their phones, messaging the whole class. And as expected, Bakugou and Midoriya were the main topic.

* * *

Kirishima: Bakugou is gay for Midoriya.

Mineta: Wat

Ashido: Ooh kinky

Kaminari: …is this legit wtf

Jirou: Yaoyorozu give me my 200 yen

Yaoyorozu: All right fine.

Midoriya: We're _not_ , I repeat, _NOT_ yet official.

Sero: whos the girl

Bakugou: WHAT DID DEKU FUCKING SAY

Asui: That you're not yet official?

Kirishima: I think EVERYONE knows who's supposedly the girl.

 _Eijirou Kirishima sent a photo to Class-1A_

* * *

Fortunately, Bakugou had control over his Quirk. If not, he probably would've paid a thousand Euros to pay for the damage he had inflicted. The pictured showed the similar scene in which Bakugou had Midoriya pinned on the wall.

* * *

Bakugou: That did not happen. Photoshop.

Midoriya: It happened. IRL

Ashido: . . .

Kaminari: Whatthefuckisthis

Jirou: I'm out. Peace

 _Kyouka Jirou left the group_

 _Momo Yaoyorozu added Kyouka Jirou_

* * *

 **AN: Yes, that's how I depict Kacchan when it comes to romance. Considering he hasn't shown any particular romantic evidences in the anime and manga (which I have not read because I don't have the luxury to, so I'm just guessing here that he wasn't romantic in the manga), I can flesh him out as an outgoing and reckless lover/fuckboy.**


	3. Brimming with Lust

**AN: I don't want to convince people that in real life "taking it slow" always happens. So yeah, believe it or not, these kind of things do happen.**

* * *

Uraraka proposed that she and Iida would stay and research any possible connections, while the rest would interrogate the two suspects. They figured that the lesser the people came to interrogate, the more tense and pressured the two were. The police picked them up from the hotel, with the three of them squashed in the back.

"Hey," Midoriya mumbled.

"Hmm?" Bakugou raised an eyebrow at Midoriya, who scooted a bit closer to Kirishima. Kirishima mouthed the words, "Don't intimidate him." Bakugou shook his head, denying that he had scared Midoriya. The boy wasn't really intimidated.

"Uhm, did you really mean what y-you said yesterday? I mean, the class is probably—"

"Yeah. I'm serious. Do you fucking take me as a bastard liar?"

Midoriya waved his hand gestures apprehensively. "N-Nononono! I don't mean that!" It wasn't every day for a past bully to just suddenly like Midoriya like someone snuck in a love potion in his coffee. Lots of things that happen to Midoriya have just been so sudden, like the day he personally met All Might was also the day he was selected as the next successor of One for All. And now _this_.

"I'm glad you don't mean that then." Bakugou snatched Midoriya away and slung his arm on Midoriya's shoulders possessively. They had the same body type, but Midoriya felt small and comfy in Bakugou's arms. "Make yourself comfortable, nerd, or I'll make sure you don't get there alive."

And so Midoriya obliged. Considering that they have little differences in height, Midoriya slipped his right leg over Bakugou's left and rested himself on Bakugou's chest. The other had to puff out his chest so Midoriya's won't droop. Kirishima whipped out his phone and took a Snapchat video.

"These two are definitely gay for each other." Bakugou sent daggers into Kirishima's forehead, to which the boy laughed off to. "I mean, it's cute and manly at the same time, bro. Have to be honest." The recording ended.

"That's two adjectives added to your vocabulary: Gay and cute. You've finally used something other than manly."

The rest of the car ride was quiet. Midoriya tried to resist a few times and just rest on the chair, Bakugou forced him to the exact position. Eventually, Midoriya grew tired of resisting and fell into a soft slumber, with his head resting on Bakugou's lap. It wasn't the most comfortable of positions, but somehow, the boy managed to sleep through without any back pain at the end of the ride. Kirishima managed to sneak in a few photos and posted them in their group chat, to which Bakugou responded with empty death threats.

"So," Kirishima said, "how are you supposed to court and win Midoriya over to the point where he's basically head-over-heels over you?"

"Death threats. Fights. Fits of passion. Sweetness and spiciness. Pork cutlet bowls. I don't know. The like? I don't really give a fuck on how I do it."

"I don't think the first two would fit the bill."

"When the fuck have you started believing that you know him better than I do?" Bakugou glared at Kirishima, who gulped and just waved to dismiss the subject. Kirishima thought to switch the subject for a bit.

"It's a bit strange. It seemed like you hated him just a few days ago."

Bakugou didn't reply, so Kirishima just dropped it and watched as the scenery unfolded. Bakugou found it strange himself too. It wasn't entirely true that he had hated Midoriya. He concluded he was just angry because Midoriya was so persistent on chasing him. Angry with a slice of hatred because Midoriya had been ignorant. But due to his ignorance, he was there in UA. If it were true that Midoriya attained his Quirk from All Might, then he can at least sigh with relief. About ten years of deception would make Bakugou even more furious at Midoriya. But now he had the potential because he earned it. And that was fucking attractive if one were to ask Bakugou. Figurative battle scars were attractive, and Bakugou was proud that he had contributed lots of those scars to Midoriya.

So, in reply, after a few had passed, Bakugou said, "I don't really give a shit about how I fall in love, but I have to admit that his power is . . . alluring."

Kirishima chuckled. "Even he has made your pride go down. It's out of—"

"You extras aren't even worth the tar on Midoriya's teeth."

"He has tar?"

"I don't know."

* * *

Midoriya wasn't pleased with the awkward awakening, but he complied with his senses. He scooted to the right, where he was met by Bakugou's hand.

"Monsieur Deku." Midoriya gulped and turned red.

"I think I-I can h-handle myself, Kacchan." He tried waving it off. Bakugou gave Midoriya an accept-my-fucking-hand-or-this-car-will-blow face. It took a few moments for Midoriya to hesitate and give Bakugou what he wants. As he stepped out of the car, he thought, _Kacchan's hand is really warm._

Just then, while maintaining a hard gaze, Bakugou brought Midoriya's hand to his face and gave it a light kiss. In a millisecond, the heat from the back of his hand made its way across all of Midoriya's skin. He tried covering his blush with his free hand, but Bakugou deterred him from doing so. He forced the hand Midoriya used for covering down and held his chin up. Bakugou bit his lip.

"Don't fuck around, Deku. You're a gigantic piece of shit."

"And . . . you're in love with what you consider as a piece of shit?"

"I'm glad I am."

Midoriya thought he had a fever. He needed to stop getting flattered too much. It was taking its toll on him. Before Bakugou could have insult-flirted with him one more time, Kirishima cut them off. He said, "As much as I would like to have you continue this scandalous display of manly affection, so I can spread it to the class, we have two guys to interrogate."

"Right . . . Kacchan, can you uh . . . s-stop for a bit?"

Bakugou rolled his eyes. Damn, if he only had a bit more time. They were guided towards the interrogation room, where one of the kidnappers was residing in. The more Bakugou looked at the kidnapper, the more his fury boiled. One of the policemen said, "We'll leave it to you boys," and left them a file of the prisoner. The metal door closed behind the three. And at that moment, Bakugou took flight and had the kidnapper's neck in his clutches. He dropped him to the floor and stepped on the kidnapper's gut and pushed the air out of him. The prisoner was already blue.

"WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING, KIDNAPPING DEKU?!"

While Bakugou was snapping at the kidnapper, Midoriya lost his paralysis from astonishment and held his parka and pulled him away. "Kacchan! You don't have to be so aggressive to him!"

"I'll be aggressive if I fucking want to!" He pointed at the prisoner with ferocity. "He _took_ you away! What could he have done to you if I haven't fought back?" Between Bakugou's words, the concern for Midoriya was highly prominent. Midoriya's chest felt infernal. He ignored that and put his mind into work.

"That doesn't assure you the right to _choke_ the living daylight out of him. We haven't even started the interrogation and you already put his life on the line!"

"Listen here, idiot." He had Midoriya pinned on the wall. And for all he knew, Deku was on a verge of tears. It struck him to his chest and he let go. He looked at his hands. _Damn it!_ He fixed Midoriya's shirt and sat down. He sighed. "Sorry." Midoriya wiped the droplets of tears that formed around his eyes. He could understand the situation Bakugou was in. Kirishima, who was reading the file, gave him a thumbs-up.

"We'll talk later, Kacchan. What I-I will tell you—it's very important. But it's best to handle this first, okay?" He looked back at the half-awake criminal and back at Bakugou. "Listen, it's not that y-you can't help anything but . . . do you wanna step aside first?" Bakugou kept his interest on the floor. "Like maybe, you can take a breather to . . . calm your nerves? You can still come back and help once you've decided you're tranquil."

Usually, those things would create a massive crater on Bakugou's pride. But considering it was Midoriya asking, he nodded. Before he had walked outside, Midoriya grabbed his shoulder. Bakugou stopped on his tracks with a tense expression. Midoriya mumbled, "Thanks . . . for your concern."

Bakugou kept his neutral face. He moved away from Midoriya and said, "Whatever, nerd. I'll be back."

Once the door swung close, the prisoner burst into laughter. It echoed across the room and pierced the ears of the two boys. Midoriya eyed him with suspicion. When the cackles had died down to mere chuckles, the man said, "How saccharine, the two of you." The French accent was repressed well enough. "Good show." The criminal grunted, a sign that the Quirk-deterrent has been activated.

"Quiet," Midoriya demanded. Years with Bakugou taught him how to place his authority around other people. He just hadn't used it yet, because he didn't need to assert dominance. While the prisoner may have shut up, he still kept that smug smile.

"Monsieur Edmond," Kirishima said, "Quirk: Makeshift Artillery. This would go smoothly if you cooperate. Are—"

"I don't give a shit anyway. I don't get paid well enough to kidnap. As long as you ask, I'll tell the truth. However, don't expect me to spoon-feed you the information. You figure out what you wanna know yourselves." He put his legs up on the metal table. He looked like he was about to doze off. Midoriya was relieved that this one was compliant. He just didn't know how much he would be.

"We wouldn't be here if you were this compliant yesterday . . ." Kirishima said.

Edmond shrugged. "Police just threw us in. If I may tell you, the police _are not_ worth shit here. They didn't even bother interrogating until they recalled you guys."

Midoriya nodded. He had heard some rumors that some police departments are quite corrupt to just throw in criminals, file a sloppy report, and finish the job as soon as possible. Some prefer to hire detectives, because they were more efficient in an unbelievable scale, even at a higher price. Midoriya decided to keep going.

"Judging by the events that had occurred, we don't think you are actually part of the Noir-torious gang who has a fake guy in ransom." While speaking, both of the boys were quite tense. They weren't pros at interrogating.

Edmond tapped his chin. "Ah, that . . . Well, what I know about that is the organization I am—err— _was_ working in isn't what you're talking about."

"Excuse me, what?" Midoriya uttered. The sense of dread overtook his body. So were they actually handling a _real_ crime group? Dread was mixed with excitement. Real danger is a step to becoming a hero.

"Oui. Ah—yes. I think it's named NoPo Organization—"

Midoriya smashed his hands on the table, ecstatic energy radiating off of him. "Can you tell me the vision and mission of the organization-in-question?!" In reply to Midoriya, Edmond shrugged. But it didn't mean that Edmond had no clue.

"Pretty sure that all they do is that they have been targeting and kidnapping heroes and heroes-in-training. For whatever reason, I have no clue. But surely because of the successful kidnappings, the country has become less safe. That's all I know about the organization."

Midoriya's gears were turning. "I don't wanna assume, but there should be something more to that than increasing the crime rate in the city. There _has_ to be. Everyone has a form of motive that pushes them into doing things like these, so it can't be meaningless. It's too bad we have very little information . . . But surely, I can make something out of this." Kirishima tried shaking him to get him out of his trance, but he was too caught up to his thoughts.

The red-headed boy stood up and bowed. "It's been a pleasure cooperating with you, sir."

"Uh-huh. As a thanks, perhaps you can convince the police to take off a significant number days or weeks off of my sen—mon ami, what are you doing?" Midoriya raised Edmond's right arm up and pulled down the sleeve. There was a tattoo of a hollow fist. He jammed his pointer at that.

"What is this?"

The criminal's face was blank for a few seconds, and then lit up. "Oh yes, I remember. It is some sort of branding for anyone who is directly a part of the organization."

"Great! Do you have anything useful you have to tell us? Are there private exchanges?"

"Minor ones. Though I wouldn't call them _private_. The people who do their dirty work, like me, get phone calls from the higher-ups, explaining what they have to do. And we do that in very populated areas. You know, because it feels like cloaking."

Midoriya could just formulate a plan in his head. He beamed, "Thank you so much, monsieur!" and bowed. Edmond just nodded. "We'll make sure to negotiate with the people of authority to do something about your sentence!"

"Très bien. I expect that much of you."

After a few more respectful gratitude expressions, they exited the room to find the chief to explain to convince the people of more authority. However, Midoriya stopped short as Bakugou appeared in front of him. He tapped Kirishima's shoulder. "Can you go ahead?"

"Yeah, sure, I understand." Kirishima looked at Bakugou and nodded. Bakugou rolled his eyes. "Wish me luck." Kirishima threw the room key to Bakugou, which he caught.

"Okay."

* * *

The pair walked through the streets of France, silent at first, and maneuvering their way through the people around them. It took them about an hour, walking around with their phones aiding them in their silence. Midoriya decided to speak.

"Uhm . . . again, thanks a lot for trying to defend me." Bakugou wrapped his arm around Midoriya, with a smile. A _smile_. A genuine, flashy, explosive yet calm, kind _smile_. Midoriya scratched his hair in embarrassment.

But then the smile dissolved. Bakugou looked at the gray sky, contemplation clear in his eyes. He muttered, "But I disappointed you, didn't I?"

"Disappointed?" It was true, though. Midoriya expected better from Bakugou, especially now that he was studying in one of the best schools, which demanded a high amount of discipline. Well, that wasn't entirely true. Most of the students Midoriya had seen weren't that formal and disciplined at all. Perhaps discipline in regards to the usage of their Quirks. He didn't know. He came up with a conclusion that as long as students don't do things out-of-hand, they can be rowdy however they want. "Maybe . . ."

Bakugou's hair dropped in Midoriya's statement. Poor thing. Midoriya hesitated for a moment, but he collected the courage to hold Bakugou's hand. Bakugou's face brightened and he picked up an interest to look at his occupied hand.

"But," Midoriya continued, "that's why I like you a lot, Kacchan. Most of the times, like ninety percent of the times, you let emotions get the best of you. It kinda shows how impulsive you are. And impulsiveness is what lots of heroes possess. I think . . . I think that's why I never grew tired of you. It's because I knew you were a natural hero from the start. You always follow your impulse."

Midoriya expected Bakugou to say, "But my impulse has hurt lots of people," but it never came. Kacchan was staring in the distance, with a blush and closed smile that cut his blush in half. Bakugou's thoughts were out. The only thought that remained was—

 _Deku said he likes me a lot. He likes me a lot. No-one else likes me. But of all people, Deku likes me—and he likes me a lot. For All Might's ass cheek's sakes, what in the holy fuck is happening?_

"H-Hey, Earth to Kacchan, a-are you there?"

Midoriya's voice brought him back to the physical world. Bakugou squeezed his hand and pulled him forward. It took Midoriya a few seconds to notice that they had been walking towards the direction of their hotel. He had been lost in thought for a while. They zipped through the desk and Bakugou jammed his finger on the elevator button. It was on floor twelve. Bakugou grew in frustration. Midoriya placed a palm on his back, which seemed to calm Bakugou down.

The elevator dinged and Bakugou got out, with Midoriya still holding his hand. He slid the key entered the room. Leaving the door open, Bakugou rushed to the bed and tossed Midoriya to the mattress. Midoriya was strong enough to resist, but he was taken by surprise. With shock still prominent in him, he opened his eyes and tried to fight back. But still, even with ten months of training, Bakugou was still able to hold him down. And he can't just use One for All for that. He allowed the following events to unfold.

"You said you like me a lot."

"I did?"

"Don't think of me as a fool, Deku."

Midoriya recalled the past events. It hit him hard. Damn, he really did say he liked Bakugou. But he was sure he meant it in another way . . . right?

"My impulsiveness . . ." The weight of Bakugou's hands grew heavier. "It's one of the main factors why you like me. You said it."

Silence.

Bakugou demanded, "Answer me."

Midoriya let out a tiny squeak. "Y-Yes." His head was already feeling a bit hazy. In his eyes, Bakugou just seemed to blossom. Bakugou gripped his left hand. He could feel the pulse from the wrist.

"I'll give you more reasons why you should like—no— _love_ me, Deku."

There was nothing Midoriya could do. There was something that clicked inside of him. He just wanted to let Bakugou wash over him. Bakugou put his index and middle finger over Midoriya's left and right eyes, respectively.

"First." Bakugou closed Midoriya's left eye. "You are everything that I have. I can't stand losing you."

"But Kacchan you have—"

"Shut the fuck up. Once I've announced it, it's official. You're the only one I have. That's it. I don't give a shit about anything else. I have you and only, only, _only_ you."

Midoriya felt butterflies in his stomach. He thought . . . he thought he meant nothing to Bakugou before. And then, suddenly, as if by magic, he was _everything_ to him. Weird, but flattering. And he'd gladly take it.

"Second." The darkness closed in on Midoriya. And quite frankly, he felt comfortable in this darkness. Bakugou was with him. "We're strong. I acknowledge it. You're strong. I'm strong. We'll be incredible. We're gonna push ourselves. We want to be better than the other. But fuck that. We're matched. We're in a constant stalemate. I'm a prodigy. But you, even when you've . . . been gifted with that Quirk just recently, you've used it splendidly. You're a genius. With each other's company, we'll continue growing and growing, and we'll be the top heroes one day. I'll be glad to share number one with you."

Midoriya smiled. He wouldn't mind sharing at all . . . as long as it was Bakugou. And finally, after all those years, he was toe-to-toe with the person he had admired as a rival. And if Bakugou's words were true, he'll be tied with him for a long time.

"Third." There were no words after. A few seconds passed. Bakugou was still there on top of him. He can't see. The anticipation was biting his neck. Bakugou's weight was lifted off for a little while. Midoriya heard the sound of clothes hitting the floor. Damn. After that, he was pinned down again, this time with Bakugou's hands clutching Midoriya's face, Bakugou's arms on Midoriya's arms. Bakugou felt heavy. Their legs were entangled against each other.

"Well?"

"Yeah, sorry. I meant this."

Midoriya was engulfed in flames as their hot lips were connected with gentle force. Midoriya winced, but disregarded it because it actually . . . felt nice, and warm, and bit . . . soft. He placed his hands on Bakugou's back. And they kept still like that for a few seconds, which felt a bit too long for them to stay in that way.

"I . . ." Bakugou said, disconnecting himself. Both eyes were still not open. "I don't know how to kiss." Midoriya chuckled.

"Me neither."

"Wanna just fucking throw it away and do whatever the fuck we want with our mouths?"

"Sounds fun."

"Yeah . . . open your mouth."

"Mhmm." He obliged to do so. It wasn't wide, but it was at the very least, _open_. Again, another lip press. Bakugou guessed upon smashing his lips towards Midoriya's. It didn't feel right, as both of them reached for air eventually.

"Fuck . . ."

"I-It's fine, Kacchan. We'll learn eventually."

"I didn't expect my first kiss to be this bad."

"Me neither."

"Say something that would taunt me, Deku."

"Taunt?" Midoriya wasn't good with these. "Uhh . . . your mom can kiss better than you?"

"Ah, fuck that. No way in hell will I lose to that hag."

He leaned in closer and settle for a weak but desperate kiss. He was constantly switching the direction of his head to give himself and Midoriya a few short breaths. It wasn't that good, considering it pained Midoriya's cheeks a bit, but it was more than anything both can ask for.

There was a knock from the other room. Uraraka called out, "Uh, anyone there? Deku?"

"Don't—"

There wasn't any lock on the door. Fortunately, Uraraka had respect over their privacy and hastily slammed the door to a close. They could hear Iida asking the girl in the other room about what she saw.

Midoriya let his arms fall to the mattress so he can rest them. Bakugou assumed that meant he had Midoriya's body to himself. He went straight for the neck and landed constant smooches him furiously, as if a he was a vampire. Midoriya groaned at each kiss. He wanted Bakugou to stop, but it just felt so _damn good_. Whatever Bakugou did wrong in their first kiss, he made up to it by the kisses on Midoriya's body. Probably because it didn't require participation on both parties. Just consent on the submissive part and they could have a good time.

"Deku, how are you feeling?" Bakugou uttered. He gave a weak nudge on Midoriya's nose with his forehead. "Am I making you feel good?" Honestly, he just threw in random words. He didn't know what people would say when asking that. But—whatever works.

"Y-Yeah . . ." Midoriya didn't want to open his eyes. The excitement of the darkness was too good for him to pass up.

Bakugou just went ahead and feasted himself on Midoriya's exposed skin. Face, neck, and arms—hickies and bites were left. For once, Midoriya wanted Bakugou to stop, but how could he possibly say "no" to the pleasurable sin he was having? Bakugou lifted Midoriya's shirt with All Might's face off and flung it next to his jacket. Midoriya looked at Bakugou with a hazy gaze. He blushed as Bakugou brushed his fingers on Midoriya's muscles.

"Ah . . . it would be nice if you . . ."

"It's fair for you and me."

Bakugou removed his tank top and threw it to the same fate as the other articles of clothing. He had that much body all to himself. Midoriya let out suppressed moans for every little bite Bakugou left. In the end, his body was littered with bruises and marks that he wouldn't want to erase. They were his branding. Bakugou dropped next to him, the scent of nitroglycerin all too familiar to the two. Midoriya had gotten used to that smell already that his nose had already adjusted to it when he was young.

"Who knew you were _this_ easy to win over? Get yourself a bit more dignity, Deku. You can't just give yourself away like that."

Midoriya bit his lip. Had Bakugou said something wrong? He gulped.

"I wouldn't do that if it weren't you, Kacchan."

"Yeah, but we only had a day of courting. I didn't even get the chance to take you out on small dates and—"

"Kacchan." Midoriya scooted closer to Bakugou. He looked peaceful even half-asleep. "I want you now. You've already convinced me with those three reasons." Before he could talk, Midoriya landed a small kiss on Bakugou's mouth and yawned. "I'm tired. Wake me up when it's lunch."

Bakugou nodded and dug under the blanket. In the cold French weather, they really needed the warmth of each other's bodies. While Bakugou's life was filled with bad experiences and shit like that, that was one of the scarce moments in which he wanted to last forever. He can replay the moment of them just there, two half-naked ripped bodies against each other, begging for the infinite warmth and comforting company of the other, over and over and over again. And he'll never get bored of it.

As soon as he was about to fall asleep with Midoriya, a familiar voice boomed, "IT SEEMS THAT MY TWO FAVORITE PEOPLE IN THE CLASS HAVE LOST THEIR V-CARDS!"

"PUT THAT FUCKING PHONE DOWN, HAIR-FOR-BRAINS!"


	4. Izuku's Doubts

**AN: I didn't intend for the the delay to be _this_ long, goddamnit. There is the main plot, which is the real-gang-within-the-fake-gang thing. Then there are the fillers that focus on KatsuDeku (or the other way around, y'know). And this is one of those "fillers." But I don't wanna reduce it to fillers. I WORKED ON THIS GODDAMNIT. Okay, I'll stop ranting.**

 **And you know, reviews and criticisms give me a boost man! Especially positive ones (also negative ones. But more like a boost to write better than boost to write faster). So yeah, leave some reviews guys!**

* * *

Ah, Iida, always abiding by the rules unless completely necessary to break them. Kirishima and Uraraka were still abstaining by the looks of it. Midoriya sighed. "I guess . . . we can make a bluff?"

There was a tiny curl in Bakugou's lips. It was almost invisible, but Midoriya could see it, and sense it. It was for him. He shook his head to get their attention away from his growing blush. "I'll give you guys some time to decide over lunch. But you guys know where we're siding in this one."

The rest nodded, with Iida sighing helplessly. There was such conviction when Midoriya spoke. Midoriya and Kirishima explained what they had learned from the interrogation. At some point, Bakugou whipped his phone out. He looked uninterested, but really, he was listening closely.

Apparently, Bakugou had a different plan for lunch. Midoriya was forced outside by a) Bakugou's dominance in his commands and b) Bakugou's strong grip on his wrist. Bakugou had his left arm wrapped over Midoriya's semi-thin shoulders. Across the street, the sun was playing hide-and-seek behind the clouds, but it wasn't feeling depressed at least. There was a slight zephyr that was strong enough to let a few hair strands fly. The smell of bread from the boulangerie and the disgusting remains of cigar mixed. It was not too much for them to complain about. Tourists and locals were scattered all over the place. A few minutes and the hand on Midoriya's shoulder was slapping Midoriya's face.

"Ow—what is it, Kacchan?"

Without looking at Katsuki's side, he replied, "Hold my hand like a scarf."

"Uhm." Izuku shook his head. He was just not into that idea. Katsuki understood what he wanted and dropped it. Instead, he reached for Midoriya's right hand. Midoriya thought there was steam coming out from his ears. It was fortunate that they didn't know anybody in the city, lest they'd be questioned. Just exactly at that moment, Midoriya's stomach rumbled and before he could have expressed his immediate needs, Bakugou handed him an energy bar. "This isn't really enough to satiate someone's hunger, Kacchan."

"I know you more than anyone, Deku. And I know you can stand an extra forty-five minutes of hunger, after eating that energy bar."

"How'd you know that?"

"When you were working out in middle school, you'd miss lunch to exercise on the roof. You'd pass out by the last subject due to fatigue, but you got a better hang of it."

"You were watching me?"

Needles shot up in Bakugou's spine. How was he supposed to answer that? Of course, he had accidentally watched at one time . . . and then maybe another time . . . and maybe he allotted enough time to watch him for ten minutes, three times a week, without anyone accompanying him. He was—as most people would say it—curious.

"Never mind that, nerd."

In front of them was a decent-sized library. There weren't many people inside.

"I thought this through before lunch, but whatever. I thought we'd have a stakeout."

"A stakeout?"

"Yeah. You said a while ago that this gang blends in the crowd to be less suspicious in informing its thugs. I searched this library on my phone a while ago." He pointed across the street. There was a half-full coffee shop. It had enough people to blend in and still prevent anyone from knowing. Midoriya scarfed down the energy bar.

"Huh. Lucky guess?" Midoriya questioned.

"We'll see about that."

They entered the library. The homey smell of the books, old and new, lingered through the air. Tiles expanded to a wide range. Along with that were the towering bookcases, some with books on top of each other. Round tables were scattered in a uniform pattern. Bean bags and normal four-legged chairs were scattered. There was still a glass door that led to another room. The librarian at the left paid them no mind. Bakugou closed the glass door behind them.

"It's been a while since I've been in a library," Bakugou commented.

"Yeah? I usually visit the libraries back at home."

"When I catch a book in my sights, I'd usually buy it."

"Uh . . . y-yeah. What books do you have?"

It took a moment for Bakugou to respond. It wasn't that he was ashamed . . .

Fuck that—he was ashamed.

He gritted his teeth. Light smoke was rising up to the air as he fought back his damaged pride. Some people were starting to notice. Midoriya had two choices: calm Bakugou down or damage Bakugou's pride.

Midoriya didn't want to set the fire alarm off anyway.

"Hey." Midoriya planted a quick kiss on Bakugou's neck. In an instant, Bakugou seemed to forget everything but the kiss. That plain neutral face returned to him. He scratched his head. "I don't think we'd appreciate it if you accidentally blew the whole building to dust and debris. Don't be ashamed of your books."

The vanilla face had a sudden drop of strawberry in it. Bakugou folded his arms and had a twitching smile.

"Y-You've been in my house many times . . . remember?"

"We were twelve the last time I was in your house." Midoriya could remember that day like it was yesterday.

* * *

 _Mitsuki Bakugou was cleaning the dishes._

 _"_ _Good evening, Aunt Bakugou!" Midoriya scanned the house. The lady looked at him with that smile that Bakugou inherited from her. At least it didn't mean any ill intent. "Is K-Kacchan here?"_

 _She stopped cleaning the plates and headed over Midoriya. She patted his soft curly green hair. "He's in his room, Izuku. I'll call him for you if you want."_

 _"_ _A-ah, there's no need for that!" Midoriya pulled out a pair of orange mittens from his pockets. He looked at them for a while. They were warm to the touch. The scent of nitroglycerin was still prominent, even if it was coated with the smell of mushy snow. Before he could even hand them to her, he heard a burst of the door from the second floor._

 _"_ _YOU OLD HAG! I TOLD YOU NOT TO LET ANYONE IN WHEN I'M STUDYING!"_

 _Mitsuki had to do her job as a mother and as an "aunt." She snapped, "IT'S NOT LIKE IZUKU IS DISTURBING YOU FROM WAY OVER HERE!"_

 _"_ _THAT'S EVEN FUCKING WORSE! DON'T LET HIM IN!"_

 _"_ _You can come in, Izuku."_

 _"_ _B-but—"_

 _"_ _I insist."_

 _"_ _WHAT THE—"_

 _"_ _DON'T SWEAR WHEN YOUR FRIEND IS HERE! COME DOWN ALREADY AND GREET HIM!"_

 _"_ _I'M NOT COMING DOWN—MUCH LESS CONSIDER HIM AS A FRIEND!"_

 _Mitsuki was already leading Midoriya to Katsuki's room. There was that blond boy at the doorway with a glare that can freeze the Sahara desert. It made Izuku shiver underneath his winter coat. Katsuki trudged over to Izuku. It seemed like he was towering the other._

 _"_ _What's your purpose here, Deku?"_

 _"_ _Manners, Katsuki." The strict wave was enough to throw Katsuki off. However, the boy still kept his cruel façade. Izuku, facing the floor, handed the gloves over to Katsuki._

 _"_ _O-on the way here, when we . . . uh . . . we saw each other in an intersection e-even when we took d-different r-routes, right? I noticed that y-you weren't wearing y-your g-gloves. I thought that you c-can't possibly have a r-reason to not wear your gloves, considering that y-your Quirk is heavily r-reliant on the nitroglycerin s-sweat on your palms. And now that it's c-cold . . . So I r-ran all the way back to school to get these for y-you. And—"_

 _"_ _I don't need to hear the rest of your story. Hand them over." Mitsuki shot him a disapproving look. Katsuki replied with a try-me-bitch look._

 _"_ _O-oh, y-yeah sure, Kacchan."_

 _In the end, there were two pairs of hands on the gloves. One cannot let go of the orange mittens and the other was wrapped around the other pair of trembling hands. And yet, despite the cold environment, a small flicker of warmth was shared between the two boys. Perhaps it was ten seconds, but damn, those ten seconds felt nice. That is, until Katsuki had to cut that moment off._

 _"_ _Let go of them, Deku."_

 _"_ _O-oh, right!" And there, as the mittens were given to their rightful owner, the frigidness returned. "I'm sorry."_

 _"_ _There is no—whatever."_

 _Katsuki needed that warmth again. He had no idea how that came to life. But there was that moment that made him possess a kind passion again. No, not an explosive passion—just a kind passion. And he had no idea how to get that again. But never mind, it was but a fleeting moment._

 _"_ _I-I'll see myself out, Kacchan. Again, good evening." Izuku bowed and was escorted out by Mitsuki. After all was said and done, Mitsuki walked up to her son, who had a frozen and weak demeanor. Normally, she would've apprehended him. But she simply sighed._

 _"_ _You know, someone who would go the distance just to return a stupid pair of gloves to me is also someone who would break every bone and damage every muscle if it meant protecting me. Katsuki, people like Izuku—they're keepers. I'd date him if only I were younger and/or hate your father. But I don't pass even one of those."_

 _The sparkle in Katsuki's eyes . . . Mitsuki had a sly smile._

 _"_ _Hmm . . . some people tend to act tough and mean when they're around the one they like a lot." Katsuki looked at her with disbelief present in his blushing face. "I wouldn't be surprised if you're being cruel to Izuku so you can hide your affections."_

 _"_ _DON'T EVEN SAY IT, HAG!"_

 _"_ _I just did."_

 _Katsuki stormed off to his room with a bang on the door. Mitsuki expected him to stay there for an entirety of the night, but he immediately got out with a comic that basically had All Might fighting fictional villains. They had a feel of real-life fan fiction. He clipped it between his lips and blasted to the door._

 _"_ _NO USING OF EXPLOSIONS IN MY HOUSE!"_

 _Mitsuki knew it was no use. Katsuki always used his explosions in random moments in the household. He always explained that it was for some experimentation on his Quirk. Other than that, her son was already outside the house._

 _It was fortunate that Izuku was walking slowly. Katsuki quickly caught up to him. "Hey, Deku!" Izuku quickly turned to Katsuki with enthusiasm._

 _"_ _O-oh, Kacchan! What is it?"_

 _It took a quick effortless moment for Katsuki to hand the comic to Izuku. The touch of paper on Izuku's skin made his brain go "Warm up, body! Warm up!" And so he did. Seeing the dark flush of red and the ecstasy had Kacchan forcing back his smile. And he had to force it more when Izuku's face brightened up having seen the cover._

 _"_ _Whoa . . . This looks like it's in mint condition." Izuku looked at Katsuki then back at the comic then back at Katsuki then back at the comic. He thought,_ Should I hug Kacchan or not? Doesn't he hate me? What am I talking about? It's not like it matters, right?

 _"_ _U-uh—thanks . . . This means a lot to me Kacchan. Th-thanks."_

 _The statement "Have him in your house this Saturday! What are you waiting for?" was at the back of Katsuki's mind. He scratched the back of his red ear and looked away as the awkward atmosphere overwhelmed them. Seconds passed and Katsuki gulped down his nervousness._

 _"_ _I'll show you more comics this Saturday." Izuku beamed at him. "If you don't come, I'll hunt you down and I'll . . . bully you more on school. Do we have a deal, Deku?"_

 _"_ _D-deal!"_

* * *

"You're right," said Katsuki. "Nothing to be ashamed of. They're just comics." The matter of the type of books Katsuki read disappeared like a thin bubble in the air.

They looked around for where they want to sit. They ended up sharing a beanbag, with a phone on Izuku's face and a book on Katsuki's. It went on like that as time crawled forward. Every so often, Katsuki caught Izuku with a small blush, a twitching lip, or a confused face. Whenever Katsuki looked over what Izuku was reading, the smaller boy would cover the screen with his hand. The other didn't mind. Still, seeing that Izuku was getting absorbed by the content, Katsuki reminded Izuku why they were there.

"R-right! Sorry. I was . . . caught up in my phone. I'll go watch for _them_."

Time seemed to gain weight. What felt like an hour felt like six for the both of them. No matter how much Katsuki fought it, the temptations of sleep took grasp of his built body after thirty minutes had passed. Izuku jumped a little as he felt Katsuki's head on his lap. Izuku smirked crookedly. Katsuki was cute in his sleep. He slid down the beanbag to make it easier for Katsuki to sleep. The sleeping beauty turned and faced Izuku's abdomen.

"Hmph."

Hesitating at first, he took the chance to run his hand over Katsuki's ash blond hair. Smooth surfaces collided. He already assumed that there would be no person of suspicion, considering that the coffee shop they were watching was brimming with customers already.

"We'll try again tomorrow."

Izuku contemplated over the past few days as more time passed. He wondered why Katsuki liked him, out of all people. Over a decade of bullying and discrimination, and there he was: head-over-heels in love for the person who Katsuki had hurt indefinitely. Which made him question:

 _Do I really love Kacchan? Everything is going so fast and perhaps my hormones were just spiking to match the intensity of the situation._ Izuku clutched his chest. There was warmth, all right. But he needed to figure things out.

Out of nowhere, Katsuki grumbled awake. He didn't wake up slowly like most people did. He just opened his eyes and . . . well—he was ready for action. He pushed Izuku's face away and stood up. Izuku rubbed his nose.

"What was that for?"

"For letting me sleep, dumbass. Did you see anyone suspicious?"

Izuku said, "N-no . . . not at all, Kacchan."

Katsuki scratched his head. "Aah—pointless-ass stakeout." He took notice of a dark surface under Izuku's chin and he pressed his pointer—his left—on said mark. Izuku flinched. "I made that hickey, huh?"

"H-hickey?"

"Shut up." He looked back and forth between his Deku and the bruise. He sneered at it. He twisted the hem of Izuku's shirt and locked eyes. "Don't fucking dare hide that hickey. It's a mark of ownership. You're my property and _my_ property alone. Got that, Deku?"

Blossoms bloomed on Izuku's cheeks. Since when was assertiveness a turn-on for people? He'd seen in the movies and _telenovelas_ his mother watched that possessiveness damaged the bond between two. But somehow . . . he liked it. He was pulled up by Katsuki. It didn't take much effort to gather his reflexes and stand. Katsuki told him that they should go back to the hotel.

"And do me a favor and _don't_ allow that round-head girl call you _Deku_. Or you know what? Since you're a useless Deku, I'll do it myself. I don't see her respecting your word anyway. And don't think you have a say in this."

Izuku rolled his eyes as they retreated from the cool environment of the library. "Fine, Kacchan. I have no say in this. But it's not that she is hurting anyone by calling me that. Why restrict her from—" Oh right—that was Katsuki's pet name to him. Katsuki looked at him with an are-you-fucking-serious face. "Okay, okay, I get it now."

He really had to figure things out.

* * *

"I am _so_ sorry he's acting like that." Katsuki slammed the door after giving about sixteen reasons why Uraraka shouldn't call Izuku that way. Most of which—about ten—were overlapping to "He's mine and you can go fuck yourself if you think you can try to take him away."

"Huh—possessiveness. I can't blame him," said Uraraka. "Many people have different loving styles. I don't see any problem with that, De—" Ochaco grumbled.

Izuku shook his head that had an eccentric feel in it. "Y-You can just call me by _Izuku_ if it makes things easier. Same goes to you Iida-kun." To be completely frank with himself, Izuku would let others use his first name. But over the years, no-one really cared about using it. He had told many, and none cared and still called him by his last name. The only one outside his family who bothered to use his first name was Katsuki. And the boy rarely even used it, growing accustomed to the green-head's pet name.

His two roommates brightened up. They allowed each other access to their first names.

"But yeah . . ." Izuku muttered. "I don't have a problem with Kacchan's possessiveness." He put his chin over the valley of his knees. "I have a problem w-with . . . myself. Like—do I really love him? Plus everything is going so fast . . ."

Ochaco said, "Ah . . . so you're already doubting for about a few hours after you tried to enter that level? I've had some of my friends in my old school that entered that phase just hours after saying _yes_. Why'd you even ask yourself that?"

"E-err . . ."

Izuku recounted his past experiences with Katsuki. He was careful to keep his voice quiet so as to not to gain attention from the other room. Ochaco clasped her hands with Izuku's. "You had it rough—" She looked towards the door and smiled. "—Deku. It'd take some kind of demigod to still have feelings for someone like that—especially considering you were the victim."

"Well, it's not just that . . ." Izuku's face seemed to gleam under the dim light. It was getting dark outside. "There were so many things that he had done to me that . . . kinda made me think that I actually could work out with him."

But, in fact, when both listened to his stories that had a lighter aura than the first ones, they noticed that they most occurred when they were pretty much new to the world. And most of which was before Izuku had received the doctor's report on his lack of a Quirk.

"I believe the only one keeping your affection alive is . . . the Bakugou-kun in the past." Ochaco took a quick glance at Tenya, who was wiping his glasses. She gave Izuku a solemn look. "But we're talking about the present . . . Has Bakugou-kun made you happy to the extent that equals your happiness when you were a kid?"

He had to be honest. His mind was blank. But perhaps happiness wasn't everything, right? He recalled the day of the slime monster attack. Why did he save Katsuki? Did he do that because his heart pumped for the sake of love or heroism?

He had the urge because no-one could do anything that day. Not even All Might. The impulse to save a person was triggered. It wasn't the impulse to save Katsuki.

He buried his head under his shirt. Perhaps it was just his teenage hormones at that time. Katsuki was on top of him. If he had to be honest, Katsuki was handsome, which was a trigger for testosterone. Maybe it was just the realization that he will never get that opportunity for a pretty long—

"Izuku-kun," Tenya said, "you are muttering again."

"A-ah, I'm sorry."

Minutes passed and there was a silence that dawned over them. Tenya didn't like seeing his friends in distress and disarray. Maybe he had to contribute a part also. Ochaco was showing Izuku that Izuku isn't in love. Perhaps—but maybe he had to extract more feelings than Ochaco can.

He uttered, "I may not be the first choice—or maybe even the last choice—in helping with romantic matters." He caught their attention. He pinched the bridge of his nose while raising his glasses. "But I do have a technique to help you realize what your heart really says in deciding something."

He pulled out a coin that indicates fifty cents of Euros. "If it's heads, you must keep your relationship with Bakugou-kun alive. If tails—" The intensity of Tenya's eyes made Izuku gulp. "—you know what to do."

Izuku crawled forward in front of Tenya. "B-but I can't decide s-something so big on a c-coin t-toss—"

"Trust me in this, Izuku." The command in Tenya's voice halted Izuku's complaint. Perhaps he was perfect as class representative. "Here goes."

The world went in slow motion as the coin took flight. Millions of prayers were sent to Kami-sama for every passing second. Prayers that what the coin showed would be the correct and best decision.

Tails.

Izuku's chest sunk. He felt like being devoured alive by a space bug. Bits and bits of himself fell apart. Amidst the internal chaos, there was a tiny voice of Izuku that whispered at the back of Izuku's head.

 _It should've been heads. Heads. Why can't it be heads? Can we please do a re-flip? IT HAS TO BE HEADS._

With only the voice growing more and more desperate by the second, Izuku wasn't able to stop the salty tears that travelled to his nose and made a leap of faith on the bed. Maybe he shouldn't have worn the All Might collector's item T-shirt . . . Maybe he shouldn't have also gotten tails.

"Judging by your reaction . . ." Ochaco didn't know why Tenya had a warm smirk towards Izuku. Ochaco wanted to protest, but he shook his head. "I'm not finished." He rubbed Izuku's back.

"T-Tenya-kun . . ." Izuku whispered after shaky breaths.

"I believe there is a voice that wants it to be heads. And I know you must give it what it wants."


	5. Chocolate from Eijirou

**AN: Yay, I actually got more worked up than normal. Leave a review guys!**

* * *

Izuku couldn't count the hair strands that had fallen anymore. While Kirishima, Tenya, and Bakugou investigated outside, he and Ochaco threw away ten days looking for leads on the Internet, still coming up empty-handed. Same went for the other three. But unlike the only girl in the team, he worked from dusk till dawn till dusk till dawn. He had larger bags than that purple-haired guy he passed through the cafeteria every lunch period. He had forgotten when he last slept.

 _Just one last cup . . ._

No—no, he needed more time!

. . . and coffee

He thrashed his head on the table. He could feel droplets of tears escaping. Was it from the sleep deprivation or the creeping feeling of failure? Probably both. He startled his two roommates. Tenya almost dropped his toothbrush. Ochaco accidentally bit her tongue out of surprise while eating a late-night snack. She groaned. The tall boy walked over and placed his hand on Izuku's back.

"Your condition is worrying us more and more, Izuku-kun. It's been three days ago since you last—"

"We have . . . to catch the . . . criminals."

Tenya closed the laptop. "I did not agree to our vigilantism just to find one of my partners draining all of himself. You'll find something soon, but you need to regain your energy back." Izuku pulled the screen up, with Tenya fighting back.

"I-I . . . need—"

"Move, Private School." It was Katsuki. Ochaco protested when he pulled Izuku's hair to bring his face up. Izuku was too beat to even think of the sharp pain when Katsuki pulled. Their eyes locked. "You look fucking horrible, Deku." And God help him—Katsuki swept Izuku off of his feet and brought his boy to the blonde's bed, bridal-style. Izuku's muscles failed him in getting off.

"You're gonna be more useless than you already are if you don't rest, stupid Deku."

"Not . . . useless. Mean . . . Kacchan."

"Stop talking. You're sleeping. With me. On my bed. Pronto. No question shall be entertained. Close the lights, redhead." Kirishima followed, after he had reminded Katsuki of what his name was.

Izuku groaned. The soft chains of sleep and the urge to go _Plus Ultra_ conflicted. But it was obvious which was winning. And the call for sleep was even stronger when Katsuki wrapped his arm on Izuku in a Nelson. Izuku let the control on his limbs go.

"No talking. You're with me. I'm sure you can't ask for anything more. I love you, stupid fuck."

Izuku can't even reply. Katsuki's clutch was too tempting. But perhaps he can still—

* * *

What was the best time to start the day?

Painful bites on the neck? Probably not for some people, but Izuku was enjoying it, somehow. He released a groan. He could feel Katsuki's tongue drifting around his bare neck. "Kacchan . . ." He placed his hands on Katsuki's back.

"Shh . . . you deserve this, shitface."

"Mmmm . . . I love you, Kacchan—a-ah!"

"Good thing pain is something we live in. It'd make things harder if you fight back. Just fucking cool down and moan all you want." It was only then that Izuku realized his shirt was removed, and also that his hands were tied to the side of the bedpost by two of Katsuki's scarves. A half-naked Katsuki whispered next to his ear. "You're mine to bite to my heart's content. Where do you think I should eat you up next, stupid bottom?"

Katsuki didn't wait for an answer and nibbled on Izuku's right earlobe. It wasn't much of a turn-on until Katsuki pulled the ear and grinded his teeth. Izuku winced. He looked at his side. Kirishima was fast asleep and was creating the most hideous snores he could ever hear. "The perfect cover-up. A bonus that he's a heavy sleeper. I'll make sure he drowns your moans out."

The boy on top looked at his partner. Droplets of salty tears were forming at the sides of his eyes like morning dew. Katsuki would've felt bad if it weren't for the half-body blush Izuku had. He scoffed. "You look beautiful when you're crying."

Izuku gave Katsuki a bruised grin. His freckles moved along with the smile. It sent Eros's golden arrow straight to Katsuki's heart. Izuku was more gorgeous than all of the Seven Wonders of the World combined. And add that built body whose strength rivaled Katsuki's. Beautiful and handsome. Katsuki couldn't ask for anything more. This human wonder . . . it was his. All his. And the boy wasn't complaining.

For his own sake, Katsuki wanted to forget all the years he had hurt Izuku. At the back of his mind, he knew it was all in the past. He was a semi-better person. And it was obvious that he was better. Why? Well, instead of bullying this useless Deku, said Deku was squirming under him, moaning with every chance the boy got. That was definitely better than throwing fits of rage, targeting his Midoriya.

More bite marks here and there. They were similar to the ones his mother and father used to have when he was a kid. That meant that they kissed each other, exchanging dominance every once in a while . . . What a disgusting thought. But still . . .

It was only fair for Izuku to own Katsuki also. It can't just be a one-sided ownership anyway.

"Bite me."

"W-what? Ka—Wouldn't that hurt—"

"If you can manage, it's gonna be nothing to me, you fucking idiot. Now, do as I say."

There was nothing Izuku could do. He eyed the cream neck that his Kacchan exposed to him. It was perfectly fine, compared to the damage—damage that Izuku wanted—that Katsuki had done to his neck. Katsuki grunted. "What's the hold-up?"

"N-nothing, Kacchan! I'm j-just . . . getting ready."

After exhaling a nervous breath, he approached it with gentle kisses. He had gotten better at kissing overtime. Katsuki was also learning also. His tongue smoothly glided as he closed and opened his mouth repetitively. Kacchan tasted like what he smelled: sweet burned nitroglycerin and fireworks. In Izuku's perspective, a heavenly scent that was intoxicating to him, but revolting to others. He had gotten so used to the smell. It was only better that he can taste it.

"Here goes."

Izuku realized he had miscalculated when he felt a warm foreign liquid seeped in his mouth and when Katsuki hissed. Not much, but the bitter taste made a difference. He spit Katsuki's blood to the side and panicked. Two bleeding holes were surrounded by a slight discoloration on the spot he kissed. He wanted to check on his partner, but the bondage stopped him.

"K-K-Kacchan!"

Katsuki wiped the blood off with his fingers. The cuts were miniscule. "Hmph." The sting was there. "The pain is nothing."

"B-b-but you—the blood—"

"It's _fine_ , shitface. You're gonna wake Sharktooth up if you keep on whining like a stupid little bitch who didn't get his rainbow unicorn from Santa for Christmas ."

"That's oddly specific."

"I asked that when I was three."

"Oh . . ."

"Yeah. Don't question it, Deku."

"I like it when you smile, Kacchan."

"Don't be stupid; I don't smile."

"You just did—a while ago."

"No, I _didn't_ , Deku."

"You're smiling now!"

"Eh?" He felt it. The sides of his lips were curled upwards. His cheeks were pushed back and were burning. His smile matched Izuku's wideness. "Damn it . . ." His mouth twitched as he untied Izuku's bondage. "I love you."

While Izuku was giggling, Katsuki took the chance to softly place his lips against the other's lips. Izuku, with no hesitation, allowed the entry of his tongue. Izuku grabbed the sides of Katsuki's head. Pull back—turn—kiss. Katsuki followed that pattern. Naturally, saliva smelled badly. Both didn't mind. They needed that—mostly Izuku. Katsuki explored the depths of Izuku's mouth. He inhaled Izuku's morning breath and the other did the same. Katsuki wanted every last bit of Izuku's essence, but his Deku pushed him away.

"That's enough, Kacchan . . ." While Katsuki wanted to protest and do more, he had to _sometimes_ follow Izuku's wishes when they were in heat. It's not like that would be their last anyway. He could ask later when the day was coming to an end. "You can . . . go to sleep."

Katsuki sent him a worried-plus-murderous glare. "Are you gonna work on the Internet for evidence again?"

Izuku didn't want to meet his eyes. He just _had_ to. As much as he wanted to stay and spend time with his Kacchan, he still had work to do. And he had to make it fruitful, even if his efforts brought forth only one fruit from a giant tree. Katsuki sighed in defeat, which was unusual for Izuku's taste.

It was three in the morning.

Katsuki mumbled, "Just don't overdo it . . . okay dumbass?"

Izuku saluted. "You got it, boss."

"Good. I can sleep in peace."

It was nice for Izuku to know his Kacchan was worried. He'd do anything to let Katsuki be in peace.

(Izuku was also willing do some things to see him in rage mode. Katsuki was actually a bit attractive when he released his wrath.)

* * *

Izuku was zapped awake by the soothing aroma of hot chocolate. He heard a mug set down at his side. A smile crept up. "Thanks Kacchan." While the sun was basically glaring him down, he forced his eyelids shut.

"Not Bakugou." Oh, it was Eijirou. It took Izuku a few days to get used to Eijirou's hair down. He thought that Eijirou's spiky hair was natural. Guess not.

"Right. Sorry." He yawned and sipped the beverage, the drink warming up his mouth.

"Ah . . . I think the marshmallows melted."

"Yeah, that sucks." Izuku took another long hearty sip. "It's still hot chocolate, Kirishima-kun. Thanks a lot."

"Heh." _Jeez, no wonder Bakugou-kun is into this guy. He's . . . manly? Cute, I guess._ He resigned on the sit next to Izuku and fiddled with the pen nearby. "You can just call me by _Eijirou_ , y'know." Izuku's smile after—breathtaking. The sun seemed to have no match with how bright and tender his smile was. Bakugou would be furious if he were awake and witnessing them.

"Then call me by _Izuku_."

 _Mmm . . . it's way too sweet . . ._ Izuku thought

Eijirou gulped. _I don't think I should've put too—_

"It's just the way I like it!" Izuku beamed, almost disturbing Katsuki in his sleep. He scratched the back of his head. "How'd you know I like it sweeter than normal?"

The other boy sighed in relief. "It was just a guess, man. I thought that since you need to keep your body up in shape with your quirk, you'd need more glucose to burn up. But y'know, not too much, or you'd be in a sugar rush." Eijirou remembered the last time he had a sugar rush. He hardened to the extent of something stronger than diamond and wasn't able to turn it off until the sugar was used up in his system. He shivered at the thought.

Izuku caught sight of the ticking clock on the table while he was drinking the remaining contents of the mug. It was seven-thirty.

Seven.

Freaking.

Thirty.

Shit.

"Uhh . . . Izuku? The chocolate is—"

Izuku, as hard as it was, gulped down the chocolate in his mouth. He didn't mind the infernal lump that made its way down to his stomach. He swiftly pulled out a piece of yellow paper and a pencil inside the drawer of the table and wrote down a message to his sleeping teammates.

"O-oi, Izuku-kun, what's the problem?"

"We don't have any time left. Lighter, lighter, lighter—there we go. And a USB . . ." Izuku mumbled away as he changed his stained shirt. "Eijirou-kun must come with me. He only said two people." He continued rambling quietly so as to not wake the others.

"A-ah, guess I'm coming with you." He stood by Izuku at the clothes cabinet and pulled out a parka and pants. He wore his pants over his shorts and slipped the jacket in. "What's happening, anyway?"

"I'll explain along the way. Come on."

They exited the hotel. As they exited, Izuku said, "I found this guy, who's willing to exchange info about the NoPo Organization, on the web. I had to go _just_ a little bit deeper into the Internet to look for him. Not too deep to harm us though, but it was enough."

"Since when did you learn how to access the deep web?"

"I said _not-so-deep_. But yeah, I learned that when I was younger to search for underground heroes and vigilantes with super cool quirks, but that's beside the point. He told me to meet him up at the fourth alley in Thomas Jefferson Street at seven-forty-five, which isn't too far away from here. I don't know what he's gonna do with a lighter, but he said that it's enough payment."

"Are you sure this isn't a scam or a hold-up?"

"He swore in our chat a while ago that he won't hurt us as long as he doesn't see anything fishy going on. He also said to me that I should only bring one companion _or else_. I can't blame him if he works in the deep web. You'd want the least amount of witnesses possible."

"You scare me sometimes, Izuku." Eijirou shrugged. "But it's manly anyway, if you think about it. You're cool." Izuku was rarely complimented in the past. If one were to compliment him about his skills ("If I have any," he once said), he'd go become a nasty stuttering mess. And that's what he was then. Eijirou patted Izuku's hair.

"S-sorry . . ." Izuku balled his hands and shifted ahead. "Let's go find this guy!"

Dear God, it was the stereotype of an alley.

Deleterious smell? Check. Scampering rats? Check. A wall at the end to prevent rapid escape? Check. Izuku shook his head and marched forward, with Eijirou trailing behind. There was a guy at the end, motioning them to come closer. He was wearing a simple plain white T-shirt and pants. If anything, he didn't seem like someone working in the wonder of the deep web. His appearance was convenient. A laptop and a mug were placed beside him on a table.

He yawned as he sipped from a mug of coffee nearby. "So which one of you lads is—" He glanced at his laptop. "Midoriya Izuku." He had a perfect British accent. Izuku raised his right hand nervously. "Hmm—would you two like some biscuits while we talk business?"

Eijirou answered, "We already ate, so—no." The red-hair nudged Izuku to follow suit. Izuku quickly caught on and lied also. While the man did promise that they'd finish the exchange in one piece, it was only right to have doubts.

"Huh. More for me then." The man didn't even get the food he asked for. "The lighter?"

"A-a-ah, here you go!" Izuku fumbled through his pockets and surrendered the small object. It was just the size of Izuku's thumb.

"Hmm . . ." The man examined the lighter. "This'll do. Now, business? I'll make this as quickly as I can."

Strangely, there was no _aura of danger_ from the man, unlike those movie stereotypes. By Izuku's deductions, he was an Internet-mercenary. And as far as he knew, mercenaries meant no harm to their client unless said client gets in his nerves. He decided it was best to just let it flow and move along to what this man had to say.

"Y-yeah, okay!"

The hacker headed to the file storage and clicked over the Music section. There were only two files there: _nopo1_ and _nopo2_. He explained, "I hacked into all telecommunication agencies and used a hyper-complex algorithm to track down calls that relate to this organization you speak off." Izuku handed over his USB and transferred the files. "To give you a gist of those two files, they said that they had some business two days from now at a book shop in Rue Bonaparte. A strange place to do business, but I can't blame 'em."

Just like what that man Edmond said: a place with decent amount so citizens and government officials won't suspect anything.

"In the second call, they talked about kidnapping a certain someone who could aid them in their _ultimate goal_. Sounds stupid, but yeah. I don't what goal they have—but if this is some evil organization, as you say, then it should have a global effect."

A minute drifted by, the stagnant French air falling on them. Izuku possessed a poker face—and so did Eijirou. The only sound present was the silent sipping sound the man was creating.

"Th-that's it?" Izuku's lips trembled. "B-but—" Eijirou placed his arm on a panicking Izuku.

"No buts, lad. I can only do so much with my _Hacking_ Quirk. If I search any further, the telecommunication agencies could easily track me down. I wouldn't say this to just anyone, but I had been involved into more shady business that had me sneaking my nose into the White House's database. If they catch me, you know what happens." Izuku nodded. "And not only that. They're gonna use people with _Truth_ Quirks to have me spit out who my accomplices and clients are and arrest who I rat out. We wouldn't want some heroes-in-training who attend the top school in Japan to go _juvie_ , right?"

Both boys shook their heads. It was no wonder that this guy was good at hacking. He even knew they were students in UA.

"Guess we are in a consensus here." He disconnected the USB without the safety option. "Don't rat me out and I won't rat you out, yeah?" They had to nod in agreement. This guy could easily learn where they live. And, if anything, he already knew. "Now, if you'd excuse me, I'll go light up the welcome-back cake for my little girl. Move along, younglings." He proceeded to climb up the staircase that was for the emergency exit. They went their separate ways.

"That was . . . not so scary," Eijirou commented. "If most criminals were like that, they could be used for government defense."

"I guess—but y'know . . . mercenaries. I know about this one cyber-hero back in Japan named _Cylock_ who used to be a main programmer of major viruses that invaded lots of databases. He used to be hired by criminal clients, but then he was caught by the government and was given the choice to get a hero license and serve the Department of Digital Security or a forty-year prison sentence. He chose the former. He said in an interview that he preferred it when he programmed viruses because his salary was sky-high, in comparison to his current salary. So yeah."

Eijirou apparently listened quite well to Izuku's rambling. He chuckled. "You're a manly walking encyclopedia, Izuku-kun." Izuku blushed and scratched his left cheek with a finger. "How'd you cram that in your head?"

"A-ah—it just happens—"

Izuku was interrupted by a gurgling sound that came from his classmate. Eijirou deadpanned, "You can ignore that." Izuku giggled as Eijirou's stomach rumbled desperately.

"Did you eat anything before you woke me up? Wait, didn't you tell the hacker that you already ate? I think a crepe would be nice. The dining room at the hotel doesn't have crepes, so we should . . . aha! There we go!" Izuku dragged his friend to a crepe vendor. Good thing the man didn't have a line. He declared his order: ham-cheese-egg.

The vendor turned to Eijirou and asked, "Monsieur Rogue?"

Eijirou rolled his eyes with a smile as Izuku chuckled. "I'm having what he's having." The vendor nodded and worked away. He playfully punched Izuku's arm. "What's so funny anyway?"

Izuku's laughs slowly disappeared and he let out a sigh. "Nothing. I just thought that _Monsieur Rogue_ is actually a nice hero name."

"Actually . . ." The vendor motioned to them that the crepes were done. Eijirou tried to protest when Izuku paid with his money that his mom packed for him. "Okay, it's your money anyway . . . now, where was I? Oh, yeah." They continued walking. "I'm planning on using _Red Riot_ as my hero name."

"Homage to Crimson Riot?" Izuku rambled, "He's the hero that has the same Quirk as you do! He also has red features and both of you are so muscular and—" Izuku stopped himself and flushed. "Whoops. Sorry."

"It's fine. I'd probably go ballistic also if someone else mentions him. I'd race you in fact-spitting contest about him, but we should probably do it in some other time. But yeah, I'm his biggest fan. Some people even mistake me as his love child, and that's even before I knew of him." Eijirou munched on his crepe and looked down in contemplation. "I'd hear about him all the time. And it got me thinking, _Who the hell is this guy?_ So, I looked him up in the net and watched many clips of him. He . . . uh . . . kinda helped me get over my opinion that Hardening is so . . . _plain_."

"And here you are."

"Yep." He looked at his hand. "I still have those thoughts sometimes, but I'll get over 'em eventually. It's not so manly to dwell on some simple negative thoughts."

Izuku said, "Your Quirk is _amazing_ , Eijirou-kun." That was all Izuku said. The smile that followed after struck Eijirou between his ribs. It was no wonder even an arrogant bitch like Katsuki would fall for Izuku. He was a crackling hearth in the middle of an unforgiving winter.

* * *

Izuku, while preventing Katsuki from murdering him, explained to the rest of his teammates what went down. As Izuku used up more words, Katsuki was slowly adding gunpowder in his anger powder keg because of two facts: the fact that they didn't bother informing the rest of the group and the fact that Izuku and Eijirou were eating matching crepes.

"We have to get ready then!" Tenya exclaimed. He and Ochaco headed back to their room to mark down their destination. With the both of them gone, Katsuki targeted Eijirou and slammed him on the wall.

"Hey! Kacchan!" Izuku put his crepe down on a table and embraced Katsuki's sides, pulling him away. Eijirou struggled in Katsuki's clutches. The other checked in on them. Izuku nodded at them, reassuring them that he had the situation under control. Tenya and Ochaco decided to trust Izuku.

"Do you see those bruises on shitty Deku's body? He's _mine_ , broomstick-fuck."

"Dude, I'm not into Izuku-kun—"

Katsuki shot Izuku a glare. "You're letting him use your first name?!"

"I don't see why not, Kacchan . . ."

"Fuck that—and how am I supposed to take your word, Hair-for-Brains? Clearly, you bought him two crepes of the same kind to show off that 'Hey, look at me; I'm Izuku's boyfriend!' Well that's not the case, bastard!"

Izuku pulled Katsuki off and said, "I was the one who bought the crepe for him, Kacchan!"

Maybe Izuku should've kept his mouth shut. If anything, Izuku buying Eijirou a crepe did more damage than the other way around. Katsuki can't have it if Izuku cared for another person. Izuku was _his_.

Katsuki let go of Eijirou and set off an explosion on the redhead's food. Izuku followed his instincts, dashed to the other room, and locked the door. Ochaco shook her head. "We're gonna give you two some space to take things out—uh—Izuku-kun, okay? Come on, Tenya-kun; we should eat breakfast first."

"Damnit, stupid Deku, open up!"

"No!"

Other than that, for a whole five minutes, the only sounds heard were Katsuki growling while controlling his rage and Izuku sniffling back the tears. Eijirou shook his head. "Really, man, I ain't into him. It's not manly to take another person away from his better half. Or worse half." Katsuki tried not to shoot him down with a death glare. It was no use. Eijirou knew he had to try harder in beating some sense into this explosive fuck.

"On the way back, I learned why you would be into him like he's the one you've been looking for. But I didn't learn why Izuku would be into you."

And with that, Eijirou left the room.


	6. Promises Katsuki's Determined to Fulfill

**AN: HERE YOU GO LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! FUCKING FINALLY I HAD TIME TO WRITE! THANKS TO ALL OF Y'ALL WHO STOPPED BY OVER THE THREE-MONTH HIATUS! THIS FIC IS STILL ALIVE AS FUCKING EVER AND HERE YOU HAVE IT!**

* * *

 _Goddamnit, I hate this freaking silence! So not manly!_

After the discussion of strategy, with Eijirou and Katsuki being assault, Tenya being pursuit, Ochaco being interception, and Izuku being lookout, everyone headed to their positions. The pair would try to attack head-on when the target is vulnerable, so they waited outside the bookstore. Ochaco and Tenya were separated from each other to eliminate any escape routes, while Izuku was on the rooftops to scan the perimeter.

Izuku didn't complain on not using his Quirk; they can't risk possible medical payments. He can use his smarts to determine on where they could catch the lackey. Katsuki can't use his Quirk also, considering that explosions would attract attention, which could lead to the end of their vigilante acts and earn them years of juvie.

Eijirou folded his arms at Katsuki. Over the past few days, the power couple had an unnerving tension between them. Katsuki didn't know what to do. He still had his distaste on Eijirou, so he kept his distance from the redhead. If only he can blow this son-of-a-bitch's face off . . .

Perhaps Eijirou wasn't the hardest diamond in the mine, but he sure as hell wasn't oblivious. He can just hear "I hate your guts," from Katsuki's scarlet glare. He sighed. "We have vigilante stuff to do, Bakugou; your heightened need to disembowel me isn't going to be any help for the both of us."

Katsuki's left eye twitched. Before he had done anything, he steadied his breath and recounted his previous thoughts these past few days. _Hair-for-Brains isn't gonna steal Deku away. Deku will_ never _ever be with this dumbass._

Katsuki was a helpless case. Case in point: his sizzling hands. "Whatever fuckstick. Let's just catch this guy."

* * *

Shouta Aizawa, a.k.a Eraserhead, blinked a few times as he worked on his own investigation. He was glad that the students bought the idea of postponing the festival. He was glad that he spent more time kicking back. He was _not_ glad that he was working at home for his own separate investigation, which was, in his own assumption, more difficult than teaching a bunch of heroes-in-training, who also had bursts of puberty.

The students weren't the only ones with crimes to investigate, though fake. Suspicious kidnapping cases were on the rise even before the USJ attack. The UA faculty took this as an opportunity to have the licensed heroes handle real crimes, while teaching their students how to handle those. Efficient really, though it was never part of the curriculum, so the first year coordinator had _loads_ of work on fixing the curriculum.

Aizawa was assigned to compare and contrast the victims. Usually, heroes would've had them back before their families could say, "Help us," but the criminals were masters at this. They had never found even a single victim of the kidnappings. It was causing quite the uproar.

It only made Aizawa's assignment harder that the press weren't allowed to reveal sensitive information such as the victims' Quirks. Aizawa either had to go door-to-door and interview to get desired information, or make his way through the deep web, which he wasn't much of an expert of. Plus it was _illegal_ to access government data. He would be stripped of his license if he were ever caught. He made a mental note to remind his students that in the next homeroom session. But clearly, no-one in the class knew how to access the deep web, much less have an incentive to, right?

Aizawa let out a growl that disappeared as quickly as it was let out. He was beat. His sullen demeanor didn't help his fatigue either. So many cases . . . So far, he had only gotten information on four families. And they didn't even help! The first victim he identified was an underage cryomancer, much like Todoroki's mother side. The second was a simple farmer who had the same Quirk as Aizawa's. The third one was a gamer who was able to mind-read (a useful Quirk, really). The last one was a humble housewife with a Replicate Quirk.

He gripped the sides of his head and squeezed in frustration. He couldn't make any connections. They had no alarming activities as of recent. They were most likely just kidnapped out of the utility of their Quirks.

The other teachers didn't have much luck either. There were no patterns whatsoever.

"But . . ." He sat down on the computer table and checked out the other files the other teachers gave him. He scrolled through a bunch of unfamiliar faces and stopped on several interesting ones. He blinked twice. "They also threw in a couple of Quirkless citizens also . . . I could safely assume that they target randomly . . . And . . ."

He knew that correlation was not causation. "There has been an increase in Quirkless employment as of recent." How pathetic this society was to segregate the ones with Quirks and the Quirkless with something as trivial as employment. But then again, Quirklessness wasn't trivial, so everything that causes the rift between the two parties was not trivial. "And it only makes things more suspicious that the Quirkless are underemployed."

 _Correlation is not causation, Shouta._

Prime suspect of the kidnappings was the League of Villains. But he was not going to get any info from the weakest lackeys about this subject. He needed big guns like that Shigaraki bastard. He shuddered, remembering the stinging pain of his skin disintegrating away like he was a corpse. That boy with an obsession with chopped-off hands was probably the best bet.

Other suspects were lone villains. But what would they possible do with the kidnappees? Ransom probably.

He deserved a break.

He whipped his phone out, dragging his finger lazily on his messages. He a small curve crept on the sides of his lips as he opened the group chat with his students. Bakugou and Midoriya caused the stir recently. It was only a matter of time that a few students would form this relationship. He wondered how they were doing. Certainly, there was something more to that explosive pupil than his expressive distaste on Midoriya. That was definitely a mask to hide his attraction on that boy.

He wondered how his students were doing. He had gotten no progress reports whatsoever. He didn't expect much because that was their first experience investigating.

He had problems of his own anyway.

As he was about to lay back down on his bed, his phone buzzed with an ecstatic guitar solo ringtone. He had special ringtones for his friends and he sighed as he recognized to whom he assigned that ringtone to. He picked it up.

"What do you want, All Might?"

"Ah, Eraserhead! Don't be so cold on me, would you?"

"I'm not cold—just unenthusiastic. Get straight to the point."

"O-oh well . . ." That was suspicious. The beaming demeanor was switched to a cautious one. Shouta expected that at the other end of the line, Toshinori was twitching, with that stupid smile still plastered on his face. He focused on what the number one hero had to say. "Miss Midnight and I uhh . . . compared what we got so far. I know you have interviewed one family who had an Erasure Quirk like yours."

"Yeah? So what?"

He heard a grunt at the other end. "It just so happens that I have interviewed two families. Both families had a member with said Quirk kidnapped. Midnight interviewed three."

Shouta deadpanned, "Have you not thought—"

"No, this isn't just a simple common thread I've found."

"What makes you say that they are targeting people with Quirks like I do?"

Pause. Aizawa almost wanted to end the call when Toshinori replied, "Sorry, I just quickly verified my information." Information? What kind? "News reports say that ten kidnappees were returned today."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Aizawa gulped. This _had_ to be important, one way or another.

"Well, Midnight and I compared and saw that most of them were part of the families we have interviewed." Toshinori paused with a cough—a very rough cough. Aizawa would've cringed if his sympathetic nervous system didn't act up. He felt his adrenaline rise. He looked at the passing shadows outside and got into his battle stance.

"They haven't returned any of the people with Erasure Quirks, Aizawa."

No response. Aizawa slammed the door.

"Aizawa, can you hear me?"

Of course, Eraserhead can't. He was busy fending himself off.

* * *

"You little sons of bitches!"

Katsuki swung his head on his target. It burned like he was hit with a hammer, but he didn't have time to complain. The other target tried punching assaulting him at the back, but he foresaw his move and let off a blast, launching himself with just enough height to deliver a dropkick to the first target's head. They fell back but quickly regained their postures and charged at him. They immediately stopped as Katsuki swiftly pointed his sweaty palms at them.

"Just fucking try."

Katsuki had lured them into an alley by making himself suspicious. The curiosity of both targets got them into that situation, exhausted and sizzled to a crisp. Both of them figured that close range was not an options, so they tried shooting him down, with ultra-tech silencers that only allowed one-percent of the sounds of their guns escape. Katsuki had to reduce the risk of damage, so he blew up the guns in a matter of three minutes.

Katsuki snapped his fingers and Eijirou burst over the alley wall and crushed the nearest target with his Hardening. The other tried escaping, but the other three blocked his exit.

"Hey pal," Eijirou chirped to the suspect under his crushing weight. "You look uncomfy there. You wouldn't mind if my team frisked you, right?" The man grunted in reply. Eijirou sighed. "I'll take that as a yes." Eijirou stood. "Yeah, make one move and I'll play with the chances of ninety percent chance of breaking all your bones in one slam and the ten percent chance of breaking all your bones, one by one." The man nodded. Izuku rushed over to the man and did his part.

The redhead turned to Katsuki. Katsuki returned the look with a poisonous look himself. "What are you looking at me for?"

"How was my Katsuki-style threat?" Katsuki wanted to wipe that bright smile off of his face.

"Horrible."

Katsuki watched Izuku intently with careful eyes. He felt the heat rise to his cheeks as he observed him. Izuku had this funny cross-eyed look with his tongue stuck out sharply to the side. God, Izuku was so handsome and pretty at the same time.

"Hey," Eijirou called. He rested his elbow on Katsuki's shoulder. "I've gotta admit: Your boyfriend is freaking one-of-a-kind. Like an angel-in-disguise." Again, Katsuki wanted to bust his teeth in and count how many of those strangely sharp teeth would fall off.

(Seriously, Sharp Teeth should be another registered Quirk for Eijirou. An average Joe wouldn't have teeth that looked like they could kill _with one single bite_.)

Katsuki scoffed, "Your point being?"

Eijirou chuckled. Time to deliver the punch line. "I'd take advantage of his single status if he breaks up with you because of this stupid jealousy case of yours."

Katsuki's eyes narrowed and his fingers trembled. He was a powder keg about to explode. He mumbled through his gritted teeth, "Don't. Touch. My. Deku."

Eijirou sighed. He removed his arm from Katsuki and folded his arms, while leaning against the building wall. "Listen, I'm not the best guy in acads, but I do know how my friends work. I have to at least inspire you with a sense of competition or you won't function according to how we want you to function."

Katsuki was surprised that Eijirou had said something intellectual for once. But Katsuki, deep down, knew he was accurate with his remarks of him. He tightened his fist and looked at a pleading Izuku, who was hesitating on frisking further, due to discomfort. The man actually looked sorry that he seemed he was about to offer Izuku his clothes for him to frisk.

"Really, Izuku is amazing, Bakugou. Anyone would be lucky to be in a relationship with him. So I hate to tell, but I'm being serious." Katsuki growled inside. "If you guys eventually break up over something as irrelevant as jealousy, I actually _will_ try and get a relationship with him." Eijirou stifled a laugh. "I guarantee that I'll make him feel loved like he's the only one I have in my life. Who knows? Even though I consider him as a friend, in that 'Taken' status, feelings between us _could_ blossom."

"Damn it . . ."

Eijirou tapped Katsuki's shoulder. "Hey, it seems Izuku found something."

The conversation was dropped as easily as it was brought up. Still, as they shuffled over a tired Izuku, Katsuki couldn't get Eijirou's words out of his head. Considering he's had a love-hate relationship with Izuku, he can't risk losing this relationship over anything else. He'd walk an extra mile if he had to keep this bond together. But then again, he just didn't know how. To distract himself, he focused on what Izuku was saying.

"There's something stitched inside the hood of this guy's jacket. Eijirou-kun, c-can you get it? It's some kind of paper by the way it feels."

Eijirou nodded. "Sure."

Eijirou hardened his pointer and used the sharp, sturdy tip to rip the man's blue jacket open. A golden envelope slid out of the ruptured thread and into the concrete. Izuku snatched it and studied the envelope, taking his casual time, flipping it over and over, before he checked the content. He read the letter inside.

"Dear . . . Aphrodisiac, I would like to acknowledge your greatness and for what you have done to keep our country safe. For this, I humbly invite you to a grand ball held in Hotel de Ville, to celebrate the rapid and titanic success of the Heroics Industry over the past decade. The event will start at seven in the evening, on the Wednesday, three weeks from now. A select one-hundred of the finest heroes of France have been invited to my event. However, if you wish to bring an uninvited hero, or hero-in-training, or anyone in particular, you are welcome to bring no more than two. Please, confirm your attendance and your entourage by sending me a letter. Again, I congratulate you for your recent success. Best of wishes, Musketeer Jean."

While everyone else was quiet after Izuku had finished the message, the boy's brain gears rotated. He mumbled, "Miss Aphrodisiac is one of the top one-hundred heroes here in France. Quirk: Charm. She's France's Midnight, except her sweat has a strong aphrodisiac odor than makes anyone infatuated. They'd willingly do her bidding just to impress her and get a chance with her. It has been said that five criminals have died due to heart attacks after being rejected."

Ochaco squeaked, "Who has an entourage of two—"

"Musketeer Jean is France's top hero—just seven places short from top one worldwide." Izuku beamed at the fact that he remembered All Might was top one in the whole world. His eyebrows furrowed as h recalled the facts he had stocked in his sharp mind. "Quirk: Metal Control. He can have metals gravitate however he wants. This is how he can levitate multiple swords, which is his fighting style. He can also be a danger from long range because he can manipulate the direction of his bullet. Combine that with his medical education and he becomes feared because he knows the human anatomy's weakest spots."

"Err," Tenya grumbled. He caught himself and sighed. "I almost wanted to question how you know this. Apologies."

"It's fine . . ."

Izuku glanced back at the letter and both suspects. Katsuki caught on what was wrong and inconsistent, so he said, "Both of you better not give me any bullshits and you know that well from experience." He waited for a response. It took a tiny explosion to have them nod. "What the fuck are your occupations?" He glanced at the first one. "You, Letter Guy, what is it?"

The man trembled before answering. "Mister J-Jean's secretary."

"Bullshit." He dismissed it and turned to the other. "You?"

"Aphrodisiac's secretary, t-too—"

"Bull-fucking-shit!"

He pointed his palm at them and initiated an explosion an eighth the power of his Howitzer. His teammates backed away, and so did the so-called secretaries. Izuku grabbed his wrist, while wearing goddamn puppy-eyes. "Kacchan, you don't have to blow them up." Katsuki hissed, but the yellow light of his palm flickered to a stop. Izuku looked down at the men. "I-It's obvious Aphrodisiac's secretary is part of Jean's staff. As hard as it is to say . . ." Izuku sighed. "I believe Musketeer Jean is behind all this stuff."

Uraraka chided, "By the looks of it, yeah. All the evidences point to it. We should—"

"No, we can't just turn him in, Ochaco. He's highly influential in France. Plus, not only that he has his own hero agency, he is also commander-in-chief of France's police force. So we would probably be laughingstocks if we present the evidence to the cops, even though it's _clearly there_. If we do file a lawsuit against him, he can fabricate anything that would prove he isn't the mastermind, and then turn the lawsuit against us because of our vigilante stunt."

Some things clicked inside Katsuki. Izuku was trembling. As far as childhood secrets went . . .

"But we just have to take the shot, right?"

"No, we can't, Ochaco!" Izuku stomped his foot to the ground, almost activating his Quirk with rage. It was Katsuki's turn to keep his fury in check. He held Izuku's hand.

Everyone was taken aback at the sudden outrage—except for Katsuki. He knew this would happen. Izuku would take Ochaco's push the wrong way. His exhale was unsteady—shaky. He glanced sideways at Katsuki, with pleading eyes. He needed some form of comfort. At first, Katsuki was hesitant, due to their current state in the relationship, but he knew Izuku needed it. Izuku needed a little walk. He handed the letter to Tenya.

"Deku needs a break. Private School, do as I say and let these two guys go." The tallest student tried to protest, but Katsuki shut him down with a frigid glare. He turned to the men on the ground. "If you two make one wrong move with your bosses—" He slid his flat hand horizontally across his neck. "All of you give me and Deku some time. This situation is fucking taxing to him, and I don't want any of you bastards screwing him up any further until he feels better. Understood?"

The rest of the team nodded.

"Good." He squeezed Izuku's hand tightly and gazed at his emerald eyes. God, they were priceless. They were like a glowing overgrowth. "Let's take a walk around—see what takes your mind off of things," he said as they took a left turn and exited the alley.

"A-ah . . . I don't know, Kacchan . . ."

The two didn't make eye contact for quite a while. Oh right, Katsuki still planned on making things better. He scratched his nape and said, "Hey, uh . . . sorry 'bout the jealousy shit . . . I was being a dumbass."

And oh, God, why did Izuku chuckle? But still, that was sweet fucking honey to Katsuki's ears. He had to smile himself. "You know, I'll always give you another chance, even if it kills me. You know, 'cuz I really _really_ like you Kacchan, and I wanna make us last, even though we're rocky sometimes. Our past has nothing to do with us now—well, it still kinda does, but still—"

"Fucking Deku."

"You'd like that—won't you?"

"Huh?"

"A-aah!" Izuku stifled a laugh and gulped. His hormones were electrifying him. "Err . . . don't mind that." Izuku kept his watch on the passing people as the conversation died down. Things have been more than stressful lately. He mumbled, "I hate injustice, Kacchan . . ."

Katsuki sighed. This conversation was still lingering around anyway. He didn't feel most at comfort about this subject because he couldn't relate to it. But he knew that Izuku needed to spill a few things out. Making him shut up would destroy him further. "How's your dad doing, Deku?"

"Oh, still the same things. I was . . . k-kinda excited that we were going to France because we'd be near him, even though we'd never even have a chance at seeing him . . . Plus he's locked up, so we were never given the opportunity in the first place."

"Yeah . . ." Katsuki wanted to drop the topic—plus Izuku looked like he was begging for a distraction. However, silence took over them for an entire few minutes. In all of it, Izuku remembered that sleepover very vividly.

* * *

 _It was one of those perfect days for both kids. Mitsuki and her son were both in the mood to visit the Midoriyas. Izuku was pumped also. He couldn't wait to show Kacchan the newly released All Might video! And with both the Bakugou parents on a business trip, Mitsuki can entertain her desires a bit: a short visit to the Midoriyas to have that "mom gossip" then plop Katsuki and probably a shot or two of whiskey with her husband every night._

 _"_ _I really love you so much, sis!" She gave one of those Italian kisses. Inko chuckled._

 _"_ _Always happy to help, Mitsuki. Your son can be handful on your trip."_

 _"_ _Oh, the little runt can be a handful whenever he wants. But I believe he'll behave well with you, Inko. Right, Katsuki?"_

 _Little Katsuki did not mind his mother's comments of his being obstinate. He was too drowsy think of them. He just gave a slow nod of agreement and a yawn. Izuku was a sparkling ball of green energy next to him. He held Katsuki's hand with excitement._

 _"_ _Kacchan, Kacchan, Kacchan, did you All Might in that video. He was going all 'pow!' and 'bang' and 'Oklahoma Smash!' Come on; I'll show it to you!"_

 _"_ _Err, Izuku dear . . ." Inko gently stroked her son, to which Izuku purred to her soft caress. "Katsuki is sleepy already." Izuku gave her a small frown. He knew where this was going. All he could do was agree with her wishes. Mothers knew best anyway. It was getting late already anyway and his eyes felt heavy. He gave her a quick thumbs-up and led Katsuki to his comfortable room. Katsuki repulsed when Mitsuki attempted to plant a kiss on his cheek. Ugh, he won't let the old hag's left anywhere near his face._

 _"_ _Mom . . . I'm . . . old—"_

 _"_ _Come on Kacchan, let's sleep so we can watch the video early tomorrow!"_

 _Inko called while both made a beeline to Izuku's room, "Err, goodnight boys!"_

 _"_ _Night Mom! Love you!" Izuku let go of Katsuki and kissed his mother rapidly._

 _Inko giggled. "Love you too, Izuku."_

 _"_ _Did you brush your teeth already?"_

 _"_ _Yes, mom!"_

 _Izuku grabbed Katsuki again and basically dragged him to his room. Izuku shut the door and turned the lights off. Katsuki collapsed on the bed with a groan. Izuku climbed and lied down next to his friend._

 _"_ _We're gonna have the best sleepover ever, Kacchan! We'll start by watching All Might tomorrow morning, and then we can play that new game called_ Duel Monsters _. I got some cards for two decks, but I still think that_ Hero Mayhem _is a better game than that. Then we can watch a hero movie and then—"_

 _"_ _Ugh, shut up Deku. I'm trying to sleep."_

 _And then, as quick as lightning, Katsuki received his God-it-feels-good slumber. It only took Izuku a few seconds for his next course of action. He reached for his first hero analysis book and a pencil under his bed and flipped the cover to Katsuki's page. He observed Katsuki's breathing pattern. He wrote under the two-dimensional illustration of one of his costume suggestions to Katsuki:_

 ** _Kacchan, when asleep, inhales for 3 seconds and exhales for four seconds. He rarely snores._**

 _Due to close proximity, Izuku also noticed his smell._

 ** _Kacchan smells of sweat and fire. It could cause a slight nausea for other people, due to nitroglycerin properties, but I like the smell._**

 _His excitement soon died down and the drowsiness crept over him. He won't be able to become a hero if he didn't grow well! He decided to listen to his tired mind and fell asleep; right before Katsuki turned around and hugged what he thought was a moving pillow._

* * *

 _"_ _Hey, Deku, oi, I need to pee."_

 _"_ _Can't you do it yourself, Kacchan?"_

 _Katsuki mumble-shouted, "You know I'm still scared to go alone in the dark! My dad said that Boogeyman might come get me when he doesn't see me sleeping!"_

 _"_ _Boogeyman?" He imagined the terrifying thought of a monster creeping in the dark and stealing Katsuki from the shadows. His eyes welled up. "But I don't w-want a Boogeyman to take K-Kacchan."_

 _Katsuki nodded. "Mhmm, and that's why you have to come with me. Even though you're a useless Deku, Boogeyman might think twice because two kids could fight him." Katsuki shrugged. "But still, Boogeyman might still take you 'cuz you're weak." Katsuki pumped his fist in the air with grit and fiery determination. "But I'll make sure I'll beat him up till he won't look like Boogeyman anymore, if he tries to take you away!"_

 _"_ _What if he takes you away?"_

 _"_ _Then I'll fight till he drops dead." Besides, if Katsuki were too weak to fight Boogeyman, at the very least, he was the one taken away, not his dumb Deku._

 _There was a slight creak as Katsuki turned the doorknob. As always, Katsuki took the lead and Izuku followed. They had agreed on being stealthy and silent. Good thing both of them were excellent at that. Izuku slipped his hand on Katsuki's. The explosive boy didn't do anything to Izuku's hand, not even tighten it._

 _After what seemed like an hour of tip-toing, they had entered the bathroom._

 _Both were speechless as their eyes fell on Inko._

 _A shot glass was on the floor, along with a quarter-full bottle of tequila, with some of its contents spilled on the tiled floor. Her pale figure in the bathtub was a horror for Izuku. She failed to cover her left eye, which showed evident sign of crying. The kids' feet were planted on the ground. Ever so slightly, the grieving mother said, "Come here, baby."_

 _"_ _Mom?" Izuku slowly shuffled to her, cautiously stepping over the liquor puddle. She carried him with the last bit of her strength for the day and hugged him, pacing the child between her bosoms. "Are you drunk? Should I call the ambulance?" There was so much happening then. Izuku didn't know how to react. If there were one thing he hated more than his incapability of becoming a hero, it was seeing his mother hurt. But somehow, his empathy for his mother left him in a silent, yet worried state._

 _"_ _No, honey, Mommy only took one shot and doesn't need an ambulance." Katsuki cleared his throat. She shifted her gaze to the other boy. "Oh, Katsuki. Do you need to pee?" Katsuki nodded. Inko granted his privacy and closed the bath curtain. She continued embracing her son as the boy took care of his need._

 _"_ _What happened, Mom?"_

 _"_ _Oh . . ." She ruffled his green hair. It reminded him of her husband's black curly hair. As much as she needed to stop thinking of her husband, she can't. It was inevitable to set him aside when Izuku was there. Her heart swelled up just thinking of him. She tried to sniff her forming tears away, but they failed to oblige. She then gave in and let the tears stream down her face slowly, like a river on a gentle summer afternoon. She heard the rings that held the curtain slide. Katsuki was watching them with infinite concern._

 _"_ _Your father . . . you know how Papa works somewhere in Europe, right? So he can give us money and buy nice things?"_

 _"_ _Yeah?"_

 _"_ _Well . . ." Her grip on Izuku tightened. Izuku was certain that she popped a section of his upper spine, which felt better than he had expected. "He was arrested for . . . arson and lost the trial." More tears seemed to fall. Izuku remembered his father was capable of fire._

 _Izuku was familiar with arson. After spending lots of time watching Katsuki get reprimanded for his Quirk use, he picked up what arson meant. He had to retaliate. No way would his father ever do that! He was the one who passed his "small ray of sunshine" genes to Izuku! Even if Izuku remembered little, his father never ran out of positivity to shower upon the world._

 _Everything did not make sense. Except for the times that Izuku noticed his mother was agitated at a daily basis. Perhaps she kept on thinking about that trial._

 _Inko sighed. The somber in her heart was prominent in the slow tempo of her breathing. "Mama is too exhausted to cry, baby." She snuggled with her son some more. Katsuki decided to join in the fray as he accepted her extended her. Hot liquid pooled on Inko's sweater. Izuku was sobbing uncontrollably. Inko managed a thin smile._

 _"_ _Do you boys believe he's innocent?"_

 _She got two nods as replies. That was enough. She wanted to sleep somewhere more comfortable. The stress took a toll on her health. She got up and set Izuku down, next to Katsuki. "We'll figure something out." She rubbed her dry tears away and gave the both of them light kisses on the forehead. Katsuki wasn't even able to protest. "Do you want me to guide you back to the room?"_

 _"_ _Ah, no thanks Aunt Midoriya." He glanced at a pained Izuku. The void frown crushed Katsuki's heart. "I think I'm not scared of the dark anymore."_

 _Inko sighed. "All right. Don't stay up too late."_

 _As soon as Katsuki heard Inko's door close, he squeezed Izuku's wrist. "Look at me, Deku." Still with his head bowed, Izuku's eyes locked onto Katsuki's. Katsuki grabbed his other wrist._

 _"_ _I promise that we'll get your dad back, okay shitty Deku?" Izuku almost winced to warn Katsuki about saying bad words. He couldn't bother when Katsuki was trying to make him happy. "Even before I become number one, we'll prove your dad is innocent."_

 _Even with the supposed meaning of the pet name, Izuku couldn't help but catch the sense of endearment Katsuki gave when his name came out of his throat. Izuku gave Katsuki the smile he had wanted. The taller boy ripped off a piece of toilet paper and wiped Izuku's tears away. "Eww. Your crybaby tears are on my fingers."_

 _For just a moment, Katsuki wanted to reflect Izuku's actions back at him. He knew that his smile made everything a thousand times better for Izuku. That's what Izuku needed. And he got the response he needed, though not physical. The small child's heart jumped for joy when he received Kacchan's smile, ignoring his pain and bitterness, even just for a little while._

 _"_ _Come on. We should—"_

* * *

"—go back. We've been fucking walking in silence for about thirty minutes. Aren't you tired of walking?"

Katsuki was unable to take Izuku's thoughts away about his father. No mind. If the shitty nerd wanted to think of his detained father, let him. He can't stop the boy. He'll have to make sure that Izuku doesn't cry himself to sleep the night later, though. That would be a mess.

"Kacchan . . ." Izuku's voice hinted a numb sorrow: a kind of sorrow that still offered Izuku hope. "Do you still remember that promise when we were kids?"

"I'm a prodigy, nerd. I remember everything. And fuck yes; we're busting your father out before I rule the hero rankings."

Izuku's chuckle made Katsuki melt with affection. If only Izuku knew how much his presence alone made him the luckiest man in the world . . .

"You're amazing, Kacchan."

"You don't think I know that?"

* * *

 **AN: Izuku's crybaby tears wouldn't be the only ones on Katsuki's fingers soon enough :)**


	7. Just Beg

**AN: Hi kids. Another chapter. This is one of those filler chapters. Lemon by the way. If you like it so far, fave, follow, review. Get me going kids.**

* * *

Izuku grumbled. There were two weeks left before the grand ball. He had prepared himself already. Then again, due to his lack of knowledge of what the enemy's goals are, he was more or less _unprepared_. The only things he can prepare for are the ambush and combat. The possible crowd was a good technique start, but Izuku wanted everything to fit his ideal ambush.

"We can get only get in if an invited hero asks us to accompany them . . ."

"Basic psychology of top heroes," Katsuki said. He sat beside Izuku on his bed and switched the television on. The channel that showed up was National Geographic. Katsuki muted out the television in his head.

He continued, "Once they get their invites to the ball, they'd do anything to look good. Hero-in-training or sidekick recruitment would be on its peak before the ball. The media would eventually interview the heroes' entourages post-ball to get their thoughts on their hero. The hero would trust them to make them look good."

"Yeah . . . th-that seems logical enough."

Izuku took out his phone and searched the top heroes of France. Along the way, maybe he could also get tips from the hero he'd sign up for about how to control his Quirk. As much as he'd hate to admit it, All Might wasn't much help so far.

He was scrolling through the page when Katsuki smacked his hand, with enough force to send the phone flying to Katsuki's direction. Fortunately, Katsuki caught it. Izuku sent him a confused look.

 _Ugh . . . he looks cute when he's confused. Look at him; his mouth is just open like that._

"Hey, what gives, Kacc—mmph!"

Izuku succumbed to the touch of Katsuki's lips. Izuku decided to be quick and shot his tongue out at Katsuki. He bit the pink muscle and pulled away, brushing his teeth through the taste buds and veins under his tongue. Izuku chuckled at the slight tickle as Katsuki's teeth left and sat on Katsuki's lap.

"That tickled, Kacchan."

"You need to stop working yourself for a while. Soon enough, your eye bags would be big enough to cover your fucking freckles."

Katsuki secured Izuku's waist with a strong grip. Izuku said, "Wow, it's not like Kacchan to say something about taking breaks, unless he's talking about being against breaks. You're not the type who would say 'Before you get on top of the mountain, look around and enjoy your surroundings first.'"

Katsuki rolled his eyes. "Fuck off, shitty Deku. No-one asked for you opinion." Izuku grinned and planted a quick peck on Katsuki's temple.

"That's the Kacchan I got used to."

"You're so annoying, nerd."

"That's why you can't keep my out of your head, right?"

Katsuki's ears turned rosy pink. He hated to admit, but damn Deku was correct. "You fucking bastard." Katsuki's mouth made his way to Izuku's neck. With severe longing for the other's touch, he savored Izuku's smooth and salty skin. Izuku kept the moan in his throat and exhaled with desire after. "When did you learn how to flirt like that?"

"Daah . . . It was just . . . in the moment?"

"Sure." Katsuki pulled Izuku and inhaled his every breath.

There was something about Katsuki's touch that excited Izuku. Other than an actual touch, the fact that he was basically sweating complex chemicals was addicting. People didn't like the odor of nitroglycerin, but Izuku was obsessed with it. The supposed headache never happened to Izuku, but it was more of a mental high to him.

An idea sprouted in Izuku's mind. He pulled away and rested his head on Katsuki's chest. Izuku could feel Katsuki's racing heart. _I'm . . . happy I make Kacchan's heart go like this._ He took several quick breaths.

Katsuki said, "You're thinking of something."

"Yeah . . ."

Izuku opened his eyes slightly. He couldn't help but stare at the bulge on Katsuki's pants. Seconds had passed and he was still staring.

 _I make Kacchan feel like this. He's addicted to me as I am addicted to him._

Katsuki grunted. "If you really want to suck my dick, fine." Izuku's eyes met Katsuki's nonchalant ones. "It makes me uncomfortable when you just stare at it like a creep."

"A-ah . . . I don't know how to."

"Of course you fucking don't. I want to be your first to teach you." Katsuki gripped Izuku's nape. Izuku didn't have much time to respond when a tongue invaded his mouth. He could only leave all the work to Katsuki. Shivers ran down his spine as hot lips traced to his ear. He squeaked as he felt sharp teeth dig into his earlobe. "And I'll fucking make sure everything you learn will be applied to me and me only."

Izuku planted a quick kiss. He put lots of his weight on Katsuki's chest. Man, was Katsuki tense. He gave him his signature bright smile that even made the hardest of hearts melt. "Kacchan will be my one and only."

"Good."

Katsuki's lips met Izuku's throat. The freckled boy released a high-pitched groan. He had to surrender to Katsuki's weight. He was in the middle of a bed-Kacchan sandwich. His erection was frustrating him.

Once Katsuki pushed himself up, he guided his tongue from the top of the zipper of Izuku's jacket to the bottom, teasing him with the tip of his tongue. Eijirou forgot to do the laundry so Izuku was left with only a zip-up jacket to wear. A blessing-in-disguise, Katsuki had to say. Izuku looked helpless with his adorable face as he felt the moisture of Katsuki's saliva on his delicate skin.

What Katsuki would do to see Izuku helpless like the Deku he is . . .

"Change of plans, Deku."

"W-what?"

Katsuki traced around the outline of Izuku's erection. He _did_ wonder what Deku tasted like. His mental high had to wait. He looked up at Izuku. His face was flushed and he looked like he would cry at any moment. The positive cry one only Izuku was capable of when he was overwhelmed with emotions and feelings. What a dumb and adorable crybaby.

Of course, Izuku had every right to react that way. Not only was he taken by surprise, but he was being stimulated very well. Katsuki was good with his tongue, as he was teased around and just almost outside his erogenous zones. He didn't want to wait. Jolts of pleasure were there, but not where they were at best. A sweaty Izuku heaved his annoyance out. Two drops of tears joined his sweat. It was the kind of frustration that one could get when inserting thread through a needle.

"Kacch—Kacchan, please!"

Izuku shivered as Katsuki made his way up to his neck with light smooches. "You know I always get what I want, Deku, right?"

"P-please . . . stop teasing."

Katsuki continued, "And I don't exactly want to rush things to the point you want." Katsuki's breath was intoxicating. Izuku felt like he could melt into a Deku-puddle, allowing Katsuki to do whatever he wanted to his body, given that Izuku's pleasure levels would skyrocket.

"Why . . . are you so cruel?"

"Because that's just the way you like it."

"N-no, I-I don't . . ."

Izuku's body said otherwise.

Katsuki pinned Izuku's arms down and rubbed his erection against Izuku's. The friction was too much for Izuku to bear, so he released a weak moan, which Katsuki caught with an intruding kiss. Izuku knew better than to struggle, so he allowed Katsuki's tongue to explore his mouth. It was a good thing he did. He wouldn't be drooling with stimulation like a dog if he actually fought.

"We can make a compromise."

"Compromise. Y-yes, we can do that."

"Good." Katsuki's fingers slithered under Izuku's underwear, gripping Izuku's hard-on tightly. Izuku jumped in alert, but still let Katsuki lead the way. Watery emerald eyes connected with blazing red ones. "I want you to plead and beg and all that weak shit, like the weak Deku you are and will always be, then I'll blow your weak mind off."

It was easy for Izuku. He was just about to beg for bliss even if the whole France could hear it. Katsuki pressed their damp temples together. Izuku cleared his throat.

"I will d-do anything."

"Anything?"

"I-I'll dedicate myself to you, Kacchan. I-I'm yours. I'm yours t-to v-violate." Izuku let the words flow out of his mouth—a mouth that will be Katsuki's to fill. And he meant everything. His back arched as Katsuki squeezed his groin, including his balls. He felt a tangled forest underneath, even on the scrotum. "A-aaah! Kacchan! Deku is yours!"

"You'll be my Deku forever?" Izuku struggled underneath Katsuki, which only awarded him with Katsuki's weight on him. Katsuki wiped Izuku's forming tears.

"I-I-I'm—"

"Breathe."

Izuku did as he was told.

"Calm down, Deku."

"Okay, okay—"

"Save your panic for later." He kissed Izuku's sharp nose. "You're mine." Izuku's jacket smoothly slid off of his body—a sight reserved only for Katsuki.

"I'm your dumb Deku."

Katsuki chuckled. "Stupid Deku, giving himself to Kacchan. Who does that?"

"Apparently, only a halfwit Deku like me would give himself to a smart Kacchan." Katsuki slipped off of his beige shirt and threw it all the way to Eijirou's bed. He rolled off the bed, almost dragging Izuku with him. It stung him—his arm—a little bit. Izuku rested himself on the correct side of the bed. Katsuki glanced at the clock. Twenty minutes till Eijirou said he'll return from laundry and time on his own. And God knows where Roundhead and Private School went.

"I wouldn't want you to be uncomfortable."

Katsuki pulled down his pajama pants, including his boxers. His penis wobbled till it faced Izuku. The freckled boy wasn't able to estimate how long Katsuki was, considering a blond bush covered at least half of his dick. But if Izuku really had to guess, it was about four inches with a certain decimal—about the same as Izuku's. He sighed. He didn't have to be insecure about his penis size.

Katsuki smiled a toothy grin. "Your turn."

Katsuki crawled to Izuku like a hungry wolf eyeing his prey. Again, Izuku was impatient, so he enthusiastically pulled and kicked his shorts out of the way. His dick sprang to life, leaking tiny drops of precum.

To be perfectly honest, the aggressive boy almost laughed, which Izuku noticed. He blushed, knowing the answer already. He looked at his right, with shame written over his mouth. "I have green hair, Kacchan. It's kinda—" He was broken off with a hand straightening his head and a needy kiss.

"It's fucking cute, you nerd. No-one in the right mind would dislike your green hair, even if it's your fucking tangled-up pubes. Plus, what did you say?"

"I'm yours and yours only," answered Izuku.

"Right. No-one except me will have access to your entire body. Now—" Katsuki lowered himself to Izuku's waist. This could've been the other way around, given that he wasn't aroused by Izuku's pleads.

"Kacchan . . ."

"Just relax, idiot."

Katsuki—like Izuku—had no idea how to give a blowjob to someone. But considering it was just shitty Deku, he would still probably faint from minimum pleasure on his erogenous zones; even if Katsuki's . . . skills weren't up to par for the average person. Even if their first kiss wasn't an ideal one, and even if Izuku didn't feel best, he definitely still enjoyed it.

"Kacc—oh shi—uuuunggh . . ."

Katsuki shut Izuku up with a strong lick on his balls and taking up Izuku whole. He forced his gag reflex away. Izuku was panting. Good start. Izuku tasted like that soap they shared. It didn't have any fragrances that came from nature like lavender or papaya, but it still tasted well. Good enough for Katsuki to strongly bob his head up and down.

Izuku made that sound people made when they were forcing phlegm out of their throats. His legs danced and jerked in all possible angles. Better than his hand (which he rarely did). As Katsuki massaged his dick with his tongue, he tried to force his sounds inside his throat, which made even more unintelligible sounds, which Katsuki found also arousing. Izuku was a moaning mess, throwing "please," "shit," "I love you," and all other words into a jumbled mess something worse than an infant can make.

Bursts of arousal took Izuku's body hostage. It felt like a snake entered inside his body, replaced everything inside him, and slithered infinitely inside him. He didn't want to hurt Katsuki, so he clawed the sides of the bed.

"Oh fuck—nnghuuuuh . . . Kacchan! I'm—hngh!"

He probably should've told that he hadn't masturbated for all the time he was in France. He didn't want to be rude to the hotel! He'd have to clean the mattress until no signs of cum were visible to UV light.

He probably should not have thrust into Katsuki's mouth.

He probably should've held his pleasure longer.

His tingles all focused into his groin, and following the snake metaphor, the snake exited through his penis and dissolved in Katsuki's mouth. The restrained sound in Izuku's throat made its way out.

"Grrraawwwgh!"

Izuku's cum tasted salty. Sweet also, for some reason. And it was _lots_. It took about ten seconds for Izuku to empty himself. A full ten minutes of a high-pitch moan and a mouth quarter-full of slick sperm. No harm in swallowing the essence, but Katsuki had to mentally prepare himself, for about ten seconds. It flowed smoothly down his throat.

Katsuki, satisfied with his work, collapsed on Izuku's right. Izuku looked cute with his tongue.

"Your load was a lot—and disgusting."

"You still swallowed it though."

"Fuck—" Something tickled inside Katsuki's mouth. He realized it was a strand of green pubic hair upon extracting the alien object. He flicked it away. "My breath is infested with Deku-germs."

Izuku faced Katsuki. The hotel room was cold so they decided it was safe to cuddle. Izuku was a warm ball of sunshine that ignited everything inside Katsuki. At least if he were just adorable Deku, Katsuki was a fireplace in the winter frost. If he were anything other than that, like a shitty Deku, he was a raging bonfire under a black blanket, sprinkled with twinkling stars—but a fire nonetheless.

Izuku didn't know what Katsuki had to offer other than love—and that made him giddy. Who needs standards anyway when one can be with someone one likes? Even if that someone has anger management issues and murderous intent, said person had love and that was more than enough.

Katsuki plugged the first portion of his pointer inside Izuku's asshole without warning. Izuku yelped and touched the intruding body part. He only needed Katsuki to go a little bit deeper, with a little thrust.

"One day, I'll violate you with my dick inside you." Izuku took the finger out of him. He wasn't ready for the feeling of being probed yet. He got closer and placed his mouth on Katsuki's,, forgetting to breathe.

"I love my McSplosion Kacchan."

"I love my gay, green-haired, Deku bitch too."

Izuku giggled as Katsuki ran his hand on his spine. It tickled. Who knew Katsuki could get so soft? Izuku noticed that he was growing another erection so he used it to his advantage.

"Do you wanna fence?"

"Now?"

"Yeah."

"I don't fucking know how you got the idea of us dick-fencing, but we'll do it next time." Katsuki rolled his eyes as Izuku pouted. He just realized he didn't try to ejaculate even with the activity they had together. Great. He wanted to masturbate, but he was tired. His neck hurt like hell. Next time, shitty Deku would do the blowing.

"Kacchan, how long are you?"

What a fucking nerd. "It was about four and a half, last time I checked. Why?"

Izuku reached down under the bed and grabbed one of those hero analysis notebooks. It was book number one. He started scribbling on the first page.

Izuku wrote on his knees. His ass was exposed, ready to be taken advantage of any moment, but Katsuki decided not to. "Katsuki ' _Kacchan_ ' Bakugou. Four and a half . . . inches—hey, Kacchan, that's mine!"

"I hate it when your analytical nerd brain goes haywire over me. Let's see . . ." Katsuki's page was a _mess_. There were still some hints of erasures of messy handwriting when Izuku was a kid, replaced by a more refined handwriting. Every single line was filled with kanji. Katsuki saw a mix of insignificant and significant details about him. This thing was stalker-ish. Izuku sat there like a scolded dog. He didn't even try to get it back.

" _Sweats for the sake of Quirk usage_. . . _like spicy food—the spicier, the better . . . has two neat piles of clothes, with six on the left and seven on the right._ What the fuck, Deku?"

"W-what?" Izuku was blushing. "It's not my fault I'm over-observant!"

"You fucking forgot to add one thing."

"Huh?"

Katsuki inhaled Izuku's breath and caressed his back. Izuku moaned to the touch. There were no layers between them. Just skin against skin. Muscle against muscle. Just love and hormones pushing them more to each other. Izuku melted to his touch and craved for more. Fortunately, Katsuki didn't plan on going halfway. Katsuki's tongue explored an all-too-familiar mouth. Izuku disregarded the fact that Katsuki still had traces of his cum. Sperm and saliva tasted weirdly fine.

Katsuki bit Izuku's lip. He suggested, "Kacchan is a great kisser."

"Yeah, I could add that."

"Fuckface would be—"

"I'm back, guys."

Katsuki jumped to his feet and almost ripped Eijirou's face off. There were two things that stopped him. 1. Izuku reacted as quickly as he did and pulled Katsuki and 2. Close proximity with someone with no special feelings to while naked was embarrassing. Being naked alone was embarrassing. Katsuki was redder than Hair-for-Brains' hair. Izuku wrapped the both of them with a blanket.

"Motherfucker! Did you see anything?"

Eijirou shook his head.

 _Lying is not manly, bro._

Katsuki flung daggers with his eyes. Eijirou scratched his nape and blushed. _A partial lie could be enough_.

"Okay, I kinda watched the part when Izuku climaxed and stuff after—"

Someone's neck was about to be snapped when Izuku kept Katsuki in his arms. He wasn't using the strength he had, so Katsuki had understood his intent and calmed down. Maybe just a little bit.

"It's cool, man. We're all dudes here. Let's not scream and utter bull like ladies do." He shook his head. "I'm really, really, _really_ sorry that I watched you guys. It was just wrong timing. Please don't kill me."

Katsuki clenched his fists, to which Izuku responded by coaxing him with light brushes on his knuckles. Katsuki gritted his teeth. Fortunately Katsuki softened and took a deep breathe. "You had two strikes already, fuckface."

"Yeah, yeah, I know."

The longer he looked at the couple . . .

"E-excuse me, I need to go to the little boy's bathroom."

He made a beeline to his destination and locked the door. He took a seat on the toilet and stripped his pants off.

"Oh man, oh man, oh man . . ." he mumbled. His erection grew more and more, and then he lost control of his Quirk, like always when he was aroused. His penis was a jagged mountain. Every time his balls swayed, it sounded like a bunch of gold necklaces jingled.

It was a mistake to watch everything. He should've shut the door when he had the chance, but _no_ , he had to be the curious cat in this one. During his early obsession over masculinity, he _had_ to find out how gay people had sex.

Curiosity led to loss of innocence

Loss of innocence led to continuation.

Continuation led to obsession.

Before he had realized it, he was already stroking. And he was already climaxing, so he covered his mouth with his free hand. Once he was finished, he deactivated his Quirk. He lied down on the toilet, with the images in his head. "Holy fuck . . . I need to get my manliness issue under control. Watching other people have blowjobs is _not_ manly."

He faced the mirror and wiped his hand with tissue, careful not to get any of his fluid on the whole roll. He had a prominent blush on his face. He would never admit it, but he was a rotten boy.

Well, boy-on-boy sex was manly, so it didn't hurt if he daydreamed a little bit more.

"Fuck, they were so hot."

* * *

 **AN: Fundanshi!Kirishima is literally every closeted Fundanshi ever. Man, maybe even _uncloseted_ Fundanshis. All you Fujoshis have it easy because of your presumed "shippy attitude." We Fundanshis have it worse because we're MEN. But whatever. If you're a Fundanshi, mad respect bro. We're in this together.**


End file.
